Pokémon: Clefairy Tales
by Yasuo Yamada Kamiya
Summary: The adventures of 10-year-old Leaf and her Clefairy.
1. A New Pokémon Journey

The man in the green overalls was on an adventure to save the fantastic land of dinosaurs from the clutches of an evil dragon that had also kidnapped the princess of her realm. He was almost there, at the castle of his greatest nemesis, having braved his seven children. Things were looking quite grim; he had just been depowered after the dragon's chopper landed on top of him. One more hit, and he was done for. Could he do it?

A young girl was playing a game on her SNES and finally beat it. She was definitely excited for the day when she would finally receive her Pokémon license, which was just hours away. After finishing her game, she tuned in to the sports channel to watch a Pokémon fight that was going on at the time.  
On the tube was a fight between Gengar and Nidorino. Gengar clawed at Nidorino, which dodged its attack. Nidorino countered with a Horn Attack. Unfortunately, it couldn't resist Gengar's Hypnosis. Fortunately, the trainer recalled it and swapped it out for Jigglypuff, which started singing. "Cover your ears," the color commentator said, "because its song can put you to sleep!"  
Gengar itself couldn't resist Jigglypuff's song, nor could it stay up long enough to listen to the whole thing. The enraged Jigglypuff doodled all over it and its trainer and hit the sleeping Pokémon hard with a Body Slam.  
"How does it do that?" the girl, named Leaf, asked the TV. The color commentator provided a quick and prompt answer: "The sleep condition has rendered Gengar perfectly solid! But how does that explain the Horn Attack connecting? There's only two possibilities: either Gengar thought that hardening itself would defend it further against Nidorino's Poison Sting, or Nidorino's trainer must've taught its Nidorino well enough that it can travel through dimensions!"  
Leaf knew from the handbook her mother had given her earlier in the day in preparation for the big day that Normal-type moves, under normal circumstances, couldn't even penetrate Ghost-types. Oddly enough, Ghost-type moves couldn't even touch Normal-types, either.  
After watching Jigglypuff win against the sleeping Gengar, Leaf turned off the TV and studied her handbook some more. According to the handbook, a wide variety of starter Pokémon were handed out to trainers, but Pokémon Professors, such as local Pokémon expert Samuel Oak, preferred handing out a Grass-type, a Fire-type, and a Water-type to the first three trainers to arrive on any given day to receive their Pokémon licenses. Each of those three were bred in a special facility known only to the Pokémon Professors, so as to prevent unsavory types from poaching them or otherwise using them for their own nefarious purposes. In Professor Oak's case, the first three respective starters on any given day were Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.  
Bulbasaur was a favorite for those who liked to take it easy. A dual-type, its other type was Poison; then again, that was true of most of the Grass-types known to inhabit the Kanto region. It could heal itself at the expense of its enemies by dusting parasitic seeds all over them, and its vines were also good for physical combat.  
Charmander was preferred by those who considered themselves serious trainers. It used its tail as a weapon and could burn its enemies if it tried hard enough. It did so by setting fire to its own tail and whipping its enemy at close range.  
Squirtle was often chosen by those who were somewhere in-between. It could slow down its enemies with a torrent of foamy bubbles which it spat out in their direction. It was also a good defensive player, thanks to its shell.  
As per custom, Professor Oak would get up early and go up north to Route 1 to capture a new Pokémon for every new trainer that was higher than three in number. Typically, the Pokémon he captured was a rarity not native to that part of Kanto. Afterwards, he would allow the first three new trainers to show up to choose between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, before giving the surplus Pokémon to the rest of the new trainers.  
Afterwards, Leaf went to bed, dreaming of her first Pokémon. Her first choice was Bulbasaur; if it wasn't available, she would choose Charmander, and she would select Squirtle if that was the last one available.

The next day, a boy nearby was wandering into a grassy area. He happened to walk into the grass just as Professor Oak was about to capture a Pokémon for the last trainer to arrive. "Hey! Wait! Don't go out!" the Professor shouted. The boy, named Red, stopped in his tracks, recognizing the voice. The Professor caught up to him.  
"That was close!" Oak said. "Wild Pokémon live in tall grass."  
No sooner did he say that than a wild Clefairy ambushed them. Professor Oak threw some Poké Balls at it, finally catching it. "Whew!" he said, obviously relieved. "Red, a wild Pokémon can appear at any time in tall grass. You need your own Pokémon for your protection."  
Suddenly, it hit him that Red was one of the four new trainers set to receive their Pokémon licenses that day. "I know!" said he. "Here, come with me!"  
Oak led Red to his research lab, where Blue, his impatient grandson, was waiting for him. "Gramps!" Blue shouted. "I'm fed up with waiting!"  
Oak was perplexed by Blue's appearance until he remembered that he too was one of the four new trainers. "Oh, that's right! I told you to come! Just wait a moment."  
Turning his attention to Red, he continued, "Red, do you see these three objects over here? They are called Poké Balls." He chuckled. "Inside are three Pokémon, or one for each Poké Ball. When I was your age, I was a serious Pokémon trainer! Those were the days...  
"Nowadays, in my old age, I have only three left, but you can have one. Go on, choose!"  
Blue didn't like the thought of his grandfather giving more preference to his rival. "Hey! Gramps!" he shouted. "What about me?"  
"Be patient!" Oak said. "Blue, you can have one too!"  
Red looked at the Poké Balls on the table. Each had a different marking depending on what it was. He decided to pick up the Poké Ball marked with a red flame. "So!" Oak said. "You want the fire Pokémon, Charmander?"  
Red said, "Yep. I guess I'm hoping to become as serious a trainer as you were once upon a time."  
Oak chuckled and said, "This Pokémon is really energetic!"  
Blue walked up to the table and picked up the Poké Ball marked with a blue water drop, saying, "I'll take this one, then!"

Meanwhile, Leaf ended up oversleeping. It was past 8:00 by the time she got up. Upon noticing, she changed out of her green leaf-patterned nightgown and into a black tank minidress, put on a pair of black ballet flats, and brushed her teeth as quickly as she could. She then rushed out of the house, only stopping to eat her breakfast.  
Dashing as quickly as she could, she stopped outside of the Oak Pokémon Research Lab, where Professor Oak was waiting for her. "Ah, Leaf!" said he. "I'm glad you could make it."  
"You're pretty early," Leaf said.  
"You have no idea," Oak said. "Come, pick your Pokémon."  
Entering the lab, she found all three of the usual spots empty. Oak said, "Then again, you came a little late to make the usual choices."  
"Great," Leaf groaned. "I wonder what you managed to catch north of here..."  
Oak walked over to the Poké Ball he was keeping inside of the safe and pulled it out. He gave it to her. There was a pink crescent moon on it. "Who do you think I am, Sailor Moon?" she asked.  
"Actually," Oak said, "it's a native of Mt. Moon, according to information I learned from the mountain man Flint Harrison a couple of decades ago, years before he became a proud papa. It'll evolve when it comes in contact with a Moon Stone."  
"What's its name?" Leaf asked.  
"The species is called Clefairy," Oak said, "but you can nickname your Pokémon if you want to. Oh, may I suggest leaving it out of its Poké Ball for a time, so it can get to know you better?"  
Leaf released the Clefairy from its Poké Ball, and Oak observed it a little. "Oh, I forgot to mention: it's a girl."  
"That should make it easier for me to bond with it!" Leaf exclaimed. "Right?"

It was easier said than done.  
Leaf had to carry her Clefairy out of Pallet Town via leash, because she had refused to accompany her on her Pokémon journey. As Leaf observed, it would likely take a while before they could trust each other.  
"Come on!" Leaf grunted. "There's another guy over there. I want to see if he's got any Pokémon to fight!"  
When they finally got to the man, Leaf was a bit disappointed. "Are you a Pokémon trainer?"  
The young man said, "No, but I represent the Poké Mart over in Viridian City. Here, you can have a free sample of our Potion."  
Leaf took the sample and said, "Thanks!"  
"Be sure to stop by!" the young man said as Leaf, with Clefairy in tow, continued on their way.  
They stopped outside of a patch of tall grass. Leaf tied Clefairy to a stone near a ledge and showed her her new acquisition. "This is called a Potion," she said. "According to my handbook, if you get hurt, I can feed some to you in order to heal you."  
Clefairy looked at the substance inside of the tiny vial. Leaf untied her, and they continued on their way.  
Only one wild Pokémon attacked them on the way to Viridian City: a Pidgey. The Pidgey flapped its wings at high speed to create a small tornado that did some damage to Clefairy. This made her angry. Leaf saw the opportunity to test her fighting capabilities. "Attack!" she shouted.  
Clefairy pounded the Pidgey as hard as she could, but the gusts of wind Pidgey sent her direction proved to be a bit too much. "Let's get out of here!" Leaf said, picking her up and advancing away from the patch of tall grass, towards Viridian City... and straight into Red.  
"Hey, that hurt!" the boy groaned in pain.  
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Leaf said. "You're Red, right?"  
"Yeah," Red said. "Your Clefairy looks hurt. You should take it to the nearest Pokémon Center."  
"It's a she," Leaf said. "And besides, I've got a Potion on my person."  
She took the vial and fed its contents to the badly-beaten-up Clefairy, who gulped down just enough to heal up. "That bird took me by surprise," she said.  
"If you're looking for a fight," Red said, "I know a lass who I fought just a few yards away. Watch your six!"  
The lass, wearing a schoolgirl uniform, caught sight of Leaf. "A new trainer!" she squealed. "Just when I've healed my Nidoran!"  
"She's good practice," Red said. "You should accept her challenge. I'll show you how it's done, as Professor Oak taught me when Blue challenged me just as I was about to leave the laboratory."  
Leaf said, "Ana, this fine young man is called Red. Over there is another trainer. Her Nidoran will be your opponent."  
Red was confused. "Ana?"  
Leaf said, "That's my nickname for my Clefairy. What did you nickname your starter?"  
Red said, "I called mine Gojira."  
"As in, the monster that breathes fire?"  
"Yeah."  
Turning to the lass, Leaf said, "Bring it on."  
The lass summoned her Nidoran(F). "OK," Red said, "a Pokémon battle is when trainers pit their Pokémon–for example, your Clefairy and her Nidoran–against each other. The winner is the first trainer to completely deplete the hit points of all the other trainer's Pokémon."  
"Attack!" Leaf said. Clefairy struck the lass's Nidoran(F). "Inflicting damage on your foe is key to any battle," Red said. "That particular attack is called Pound."  
The lass's Nidoran(F) struck back, but by ramming straight into the Clefairy. "Now that's an attack my own Pokémon doesn't know," Red said. "It's called Tackle."  
Clefairy let out a rather cute cry, causing the Nidoran(F) to slightly lose the will to fight. "Lowering the foe's stats will put you at an advantage," Red said. "The move you used, Growl, lowers your opponent's attack."  
Nidoran(F) responded with her own cutesy cry. "And now you're both even," Red said.  
"Ana, use Pound!" Leaf said. "Do so until you vanquish your opponent!"  
Clefairy struck the Nidoran(F), and she in turn tackled her. This sequence repeated itself a few more times, until Clefairy came out on top.  
"Good job!" the lass said. "If I were a regular trainer, I'd hand over some prize money, but I'm just one of several Pokémon Tech students who the school has asked to help train new trainers, so I can't hand over or accept any prize money. Either way, your Pokémon will grow stronger as you defeat other trainers. Come, let's go to the Pokémon Center together!"  
Leaf accompanied the lass to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City.

"Welcome to our Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy said upon seeing Leaf and the lass appear. "We heal your Pokémon back to perfect health. Shall we heal your Pokémon?"  
"Sure," the two girls said.  
"OK, we'll need your Pokémon," the nurse said.  
As she healed the Clefairy and Nidoran(F), Leaf walked over to the guy slumped over on the couch, waiting for his Pokémon to heal. "There's a Pokémon Center in every town ahead," he said. "They don't charge any money, either! But they do take a while. It depends on how severe the injuries are, really."  
"How is your Pokémon?" Leaf asked.  
"Fainted," the guy said.  
Suddenly, his buzzer went off. "That must mean it's fighting fit again," he said as he got up. Leaf noticed the gadget. "What is that thing?" she asked.  
"That's an invention Nurse Joy created in her spare time about a year or two ago," the guy said. "Now, it's standard issue for trainers and handed out to newcomers at every Pokémon Center. The nurse uses it to let trainers know when their Pokémon..."  
"...are fighting fit," Nurse Joy said as she returned the guy's Pokémon. Bowing, she continued, "We hope to see you again!"  
Noticing Leaf still hanging around, she said, "Oh, you forgot this."  
"I know what it is," Leaf said as she picked up the buzzer. "You use this to communicate with trainers and let them know when their Pokémon are fighting fit."  
Nurse Joy said, "Little known fact: I minored in technology at Pokémon Tech, where I got my nursing degree. I'll let you know through this device when you girls' Pokémon are ready."  
Leaf decided to take the time to explore Viridian City. However, she couldn't get very far up north, because, as it so happened, an old man got drunk on sake and passed out on the road, with his granddaughter tending to him. "You can't go through here!" the old man said when Leaf approached him. "This is private property!"  
Leaf glanced at his granddaughter. "Oh, Grandpa! Don't be so mean!" she said. "You'll have to excuse my grandfather. He got himself drunk again."  
Leaf decided to wait until he had recovered from his drunken stupor. She saw a bug catcher near the Poké Mart and decided to talk to him. "You're new," he said. "Do you want to know about the two caterpillar Pokémon?"  
"Sure," Leaf said.  
"Caterpie has no poison, but Weedle does," the bug catcher explained. "Watch out for its Poison Sting."  
Leaf paused and said, "OK."  
She then walked into the Poké Mart.

"Welcome to the Viridian City Poké Mart! All your item needs fulfilled!" shouted the enthusiastic nerd behind the counter. "Identification, please."  
Leaf said, "I don't really have any identification on me, but I do have a Pokémon license."  
"Where you from?"  
"Pallet Town."  
"Pallet Town? So you know Professor Oak, right?"  
Leaf said, "I got my starter Pokémon from him."  
"Well, his package just came in," said the clerk. "Will you take it to him?"  
"Gladly!" Leaf said.  
"All right, then!" the clerk said as he gave Leaf a parcel. "Oh, tell Professor Oak I said hi!"  
"Sure!" Leaf said as she departed.

And not a moment too soon, it seemed.  
The buzzer on Leaf's person sounded. She ran to the Pokémon Center to pick up her Pokémon.  
"Thank you! Your Pokémon are fighting fit," Nurse Joy said before bowing. "We hope to see you again!"  
Leaf took her Clefairy, let her out of her Poké Ball, and left with the parcel.

"What? You have something for me?"  
"Yes," Leaf said. "It just arrived in Viridian City, and the Poké Mart clerk who received it asked me to bring it to you."  
Leaf gave Professor Oak his parcel. He recognized it. "This is the custom Poké Ball I ordered. Thank you!"  
All of a sudden, Red and Blue appeared. "I came when I heard you called for me," Red said. "What do you want me to do?"  
"Yeah!" Blue said. "What did you call me for, Gramps?"  
Professor Oak thought for a moment and said, "Oh, that's right! I have a request of you three. On the desk there is my invention, the Pokédex, which automatically records data on Pokémon you've seen or caught. It's a hi-tech encyclopedia! Take them with you!"  
Red, Blue, and Leaf picked up the Pokédexes on the desk which the Professor had indicated. "To make a complete guide on all the Pokémon in the world, starting with the inhabitants of Kanto," Oak said. "That was my dream! But... I'm too old! I can't do it! So, you three, I want you to fulfill my dream for me. Get moving now; this is a great undertaking in Pokémon history!"  
As Leaf left with her Pokédex, Blue said, "Alright, Gramps! You can count on me!"  
Turning to Red before following Leaf out the door, he said, "I hate to tell you this, Red, but I don't need your help! Oh! I know! I'll borrow a town map from my sis! I'll tell her not to lend you one, Red!"  
He left, laughing.

Fortunately, Leaf beat him to his house, knocking first. "Come in," the young lady inside of the house said.  
Leaf entered. "I hear Grandpa asked you to run an errand," the young lady said. "Here, this will help you!"  
Leaf received the town map from the young lady, whose name was printed on the map. It identified her, Daisy Oak, as the cartographer. "Dad was an explorer," Daisy said. "I drew this map by hand as he took me along on his trips across the island. Have a good trip!"  
As Leaf left, Daisy said, "Oh! I almost forgot! Pokémon are living things. If they get tired, give them a rest."  
"Have a nice day!" Leaf said.

By this point, Clefairy had grown to trust her mistress a bit more and helped fend off the wild Pidgey and Rattata in the tall grass. The odd Caterpie appeared along the way as well.  
"Oh! You're tired, Ana?" Leaf had noticed Clefairy had gotten weak again. "I guess that means I gotta take you back to the Pokémon Center!"  
Leaf returned Clefairy to her Poké Ball and ran to the Viridian Pokémon Center.

"Back so soon?" Nurse Joy asked. As she took Clefairy to be healed, she continued, "Allow me to give you some advice on how to take care of your Pokémon as a trainer."  
"I'm listening," Leaf said.  
"While you're waiting," Nurse Joy said, "you should stop by the Poké Mart near here. They stock Poké Balls. Be sure to bring identification. Solid proof of a Pokémon license is necessary. I see you now have a Pokédex. It should suffice."  
"What do I do with the Poké Balls I purchase?" Leaf asked.  
"I recommend you catch yourself a Pokémon or two," Nurse Joy said. "The more, the better."  
Leaf left the Pokémon Center and entered the Poké Mart.

"Identification, please," the clerk said.  
Leaf showed him her Pokédex, on which she had entered her name, date of birth, and place of birth. She had also made a selfie for photo identification just outside of the Oak Pokémon Research Lab.  
"All right, then," the clerk said. "How may I help you? You wanna buy or sell?"  
"I'm looking to buy myself some Poké Balls."  
"Take your time," the clerk said.  
While browsing, she came across a bug catcher who was shopping for stuff with which to guard himself against the Weedle in Viridian Forest. "This shop sells many antidotes," said he.  
"No!" shouted another customer right behind her. He looked distraught. "Potions are all sold out!"  
Leaf looked around until she found the Poké Balls. She picked up five of them and brought them to be checked out. "That'll be 200 Poké Dollars per Poké Ball," the clerk said.  
After Leaf paid up, he said, "Here you are! Thank you! Is there anything else I can do?"  
"Unless Potions will be back in stock soon," Leaf said, "that'll be all for now."  
"Thank you!" the clerk said.  
Leaf's buzzer sounded. "OK, I'll be right there," she said before returning to the Pokémon Center.

After picking up her Clefairy, Leaf returned to the scene of the old man's drunkenness. By this point, the old man had sobered up. "At last, I feel sober!" the old man said. "I apologize for my behavior earlier. Now that I feel better, why don't I make it up to you, unless you're in a hurry?"  
"Sure," Leaf said. "I've got time."  
The old man saw Poké Balls on her belt. "I see you've got some Poké Balls. And you've got a Pokédex, too! When you use one of those to catch a Pokémon, the Pokédex is automatically updated. Allow me to demonstrate how to catch a Pokémon."  
The old man led Leaf to Route 2 and stepped into the nearest grassy area. Out popped a Weedle. The old man threw the one Poké Ball he had on him, but the Weedle just barely escaped. "Well! That didn't work," the old man said. "Either I'm losing my touch, or there's something else I forgot to do... oh damn, I'm out of Poké Balls, too! I'd better go get some at the Poké Mart. I'll try again if you can reach me afterwards."  
He then went south. The next encounter in the tall grass was a Spearow. It was very aggressive and pecked at Leaf's Clefairy as she pounded it. Unfortunately, Clefairy became weak again. However, Leaf took out a Poké Ball and said, "All right, you vicious little bird, you're mine! Poké Ball, go!"  
She threw the Poké Ball and caught the Spearow. "I don't know what I'll call you at the moment," said she, "but Nurse Joy will probably be able to identify your gender and therefore help me out there."  
She returned to the Pokémon Center to heal both her Clefairy and her first catch, Spearow.


	2. The Agony of Defeat

"Glad to see you took my advice," Nurse Joy said as she took Leaf's Clefairy and Spearow to heal them. "One question: have you given any thought to nicknaming your Pokémon?"  
Leaf said, "I nicknamed my Clefairy Ana, but I really don't know about Spearow yet, I'm sorry to say. I mean, I don't even know its gender!"  
"Truth be told," Nurse Joy said, "it's hard to tell with many species, but some do have clear gender markers. Pikachu is one of them."  
"How do I tell the male from the female?"  
Nurse Joy replied, "The female has a heart-shaped tail. Whoa, both of your Pokémon really received a beating. Seems you really wanted this one to be an easy catch."  
Leaf asked, "How easy is it to catch a Pokémon?"  
"Well, most of the specimens around here are easy to catch; however, there are some that may require you to lob more than one Poké Ball at it. The stronger the Pokémon, the harder it is to catch, and Pikachu's a bit stronger than most of the Pokémon in this part of Kanto. Even the Nidoran, which you can find west of here, are fairly easy to catch in comparison."  
Leaf said, "I think I'm up to the challenge."  
Nurse Joy said, "Good luck."

"I think I figured out what you were missing the last time, sir," Leaf said. "You'll have better luck if you weaken your target sufficiently before throwing your Poké Ball."  
The old man said, "Personally, I rely on luck, but now that you mention it, I did manage to catch a Pokémon a few weeks ago. I'll go get it before I try again."  
He went into his house and stayed inside for about a minute before emerging with his Rattata, which wasn't inside of a Poké Ball. "Where were we?" he asked.  
"Route 2, I believe. North of here."  
"Ah, thanks, young lady!" the old man said before they returned. Once again, the old man stepped into the grass and encountered a Weedle. This time, he summoned his Rattata, which tackled it a couple of times but got poisoned in the process. "Don't worry, little Ratty," the old man said. "I'll have you at the Pokémon Center real soon. Right now, I've got a Pokémon to catch. Poké Ball, go!"  
This time around, he caught the Weedle. "Right, well, my Rattata got the business end of Weedle's stinger, so I'm gonna have to take both to the Pokémon Center. Have a nice day, young lady!"  
Taking his Weedle and poisoned Rattata, he hurried over to the Pokémon Center to have them healed. Nearby, there was a lone tree blocking a path. Leaf noticed something inside. "Another Potion," she said to herself as she took the abandoned vial.  
After picking up her Clefairy and Spearow, she went west to Route 22, intent on training them to make them stronger.

There wasn't really anything for Spearow, which Leaf ultimately nicknamed Terminator, to grind his beak on–mainly Rattata, other Spearow, and the odd Nidoran–but both he and Clefairy were able to level up in very little time, during which Leaf caught herself a male Rattata.  
It happened when Spearow was at Lv. 8, just one level shy of learning Leer. The purple-furred creature jumped Leaf after she had worn Clefairy out against one of Spearow's brethren, forcing Spearow to finish the fight himself. Luckily, Clefairy hadn't fainted. However, Rattata proved to be a speedster, and Leaf didn't want to take any chances, especially as Clefairy was just starting to warm up to her, so she summoned Spearow first instead.  
Spearow started things off by using Growl, which diminished Rattata's will to fight. Rattata responded with a Tail Whip, which caused Spearow to let his guard down a bit. Spearow pecked hard at Rattata, and when Rattata tackled Spearow twice, both were on the verge of fainting. Leaf took another Poké Ball and threw it at Rattata, shouting, "Poké Ball, go!"  
Needless to say, the catch succeeded. Impressed by the Rattata's speed, Leaf decided to nickname him Blitzen before taking her Pokémon back to be healed.

"Wow," Nurse Joy said. "You really got the Route 22 natives riled. They did such a number on your Pokémon, it'll be next day before they're fighting fit, by my estimation."  
"I guess I'll wait it out here, then," Leaf said.  
Taking out her sleeping bag, she searched for a place to lie down for the night before Nurse Joy said, "There's sleeping room upstairs near the Cable Club. Trainers whose Pokémon may have to be healed overnight will find the place very cozy."  
Leaf thanked Nurse Joy as the metal door outside of the Pokémon Center went down for the night, preventing both entry into and exit out of the building. "Just in time," she said as she walked up the stairs into the dome-shaped Cable Club area. There was one other trainer waiting for his Pokémon–a youngster with a purple Rattata print sleeping bag. "You like Rattata?" she asked.  
The youngster said, "Yeah. Why do you mention it? Did you catch one?"  
"Yeah," Leaf said as she laid out her sleeping bag. "Took a couple of hits from Terminator's beak to get it to where I could catch it."  
"Who's Terminator?" the youngster asked.  
Leaf said, "It's my Spearow. I also have a Clefairy who I nicknamed Ana."  
The youngster said, "My Rattata is in the top percentage of Rattata. We should pit them against each other sometime."  
Leaf asked, "Is yours a boy or a girl?"  
The youngster said, "It's a boy. What about yours?"  
"I don't know yet," Leaf said. "Nurse Joy determined the gender of Terminator when I caught it earlier today, and she'll check Blitzen's while healing my Pokémon. Oh, my name's Leaf."  
The youngster said, "Mine's Edison. I've got a cousin near Cherrygrove City named Joey."  
"Cherrygrove? Where's that?"  
Edison said, "Oh, it's in Johto, west of here. You definitely won't find it on one of Daisy's Town Maps."  
Leaf removed her ballet flats and put them next to her item bag. "You know Professor Oak's granddaughter?" she asked.  
"Only from the organic, hand-drawn maps she makes of the Kanto region," Edison said. "I got mine via the local Poké Mart's delivery service."  
"Makes sense," Leaf said as she put herself in her green Bulbasaur print sleeping bag. "I know from the town map she gave me that she puts her name on every map she completes."  
"I got my Pokémon license just a few days ago," Edison said. "What about you?"  
Leaf said, "I'm relatively new to the game; I just got started today. Good night, Edison."  
"Good night, Leaf," Edison said. "I hope to take you on in a Rattata battle in the future."  
The two young trainers slept soundly through the night.

"Will number 1121 please report to the desk to pick up his Rattata?"  
Edison was barely able to make out the intercom message as he woke up. "That must mean my Rattata is now fighting fit again," said he. "If you want to fight, meet me just outside of Viridian Forest."  
Rolling his sleeping bag back up, he walked downstairs to pick up his Pokémon. Leaf put her ballet flats back on and rolled up her sleeping bag before putting it away until night returned, and not a moment too soon, for as soon as Edison had picked up his Rattata, the intercom made the following announcement: "Will number 1138 please report to the desk to pick up her Pokémon?"  
Leaf looked at her buzzer, and it did indeed give her number as 1138. She ran down with her bag and picked up her Clefairy, Spearow, and Rattata.

Once again venturing west, all her focus now went to training her Rattata. She managed to get it to Lv. 7 before having to return to the Pokémon Center, after which she decided to go further to the west.  
This time, she encountered Red again. "What kind of a person would dare mock the first Pokémon a trainer receives?" he shouted angrily.  
"I don't know," Leaf said, "but your choice definitely made the first leg of your journey a bit difficult, if the person was that hard on you."  
"Exactly!" Red said. "He said, and I quote, 'Your choice of starter isn't going to get you very far, rookie!' Then again, perhaps he has a point."  
"Who was it?" Leaf asked, with a tone of indignation in her voice.  
"One thing's for sure: it definitely wasn't my rival Blue," Red replied, "though I did encounter him and almost lost to him just because he felt the need to slow Gojira down with a spray of bubbles. I was barely able to drop his Squirtle with a Scratch. His Pidgey, on the other hand, was fairly easy by comparison."  
Leaf ran past the patch of tall grass. "Wait! Leaf!" he shouted. "It's a trap!"  
Indeed, Blue ambushed her just after she went through an opening in the ledge just above. "Hey! Leaf! You going to the Pokémon League? Forget it!" he said. "You probably don't have any badges, so the guard ain't gonna let you through; believe me, I tried! Oh, by the way, are your Pokémon as strong as my old pal Red's?"  
As Red had predicted, Blue summoned one of two Pokémon. Leaf recognized it as a Pidgey. She summoned Spearow to counter it. "This is gonna be easy!" she said. "Terminator, Peck!"  
Spearow pecked hard at the Pidgey, which responded by kicking some sand, conveniently beneath its feet, at him. "What does that do?" she asked. "It certainly doesn't damage Terminator, if that's what you were trying to do."  
"It's called Sand-Attack," Blue said, "and it wasn't my intention to damage Terminated or whatever you call your Spearow."  
"It's Terminator!" Leaf shouted.  
"Whatever," Blue said. "Watch the magic Sand-Attack works for me and my Pidgey!"  
The cycle repeated itself a couple more times, until Spearow could hardly see where he was going and pecked at not just Pidgey, but also at Blue, Leaf, and the air in his blindness. "It'll shake it off once the battle's over," Blue said, "or else the mechanics of its Poké Ball will clear its vision."  
"It's a he!" Leaf exploded.  
"Whatever," Blue said. "Pidgey, finish him!"  
A gust of wind created by a rapid flap of Pidgey's wings was all that was needed for Spearow to drop. "Terminator, return!" Leaf shouted, summoning her Spearow back into his Poké Ball. "I choose you, Blitzen!"  
Rattata came out of his Poké Ball. "Don't let the sand get in your eyes, Blitzen!" Leaf said. "Quick Attack!"  
Rattata sped past the miniature tornado and hit Pidgey. The tornado, meanwhile, failed to hit its target. "That's unusual," Blue said. "I was told that Gust was practically infallible!"  
"The enemy's weak!" Leaf said. "Finish it!"  
Rattata took some damage from a second attempt to blow it away, but it was able to drop Pidgey with a Tackle. "Pidgey, return!" Blue said. "Squirtle, go!"  
Squirtle promptly sprayed the Rattata with bubbles; however, Rattata was able to counter with Quick Attack. Blue continued to command Squirtle to use Bubble, and in the end, despite losing half its hit points to repeated attacks by Rattata, Squirtle won. "Blitzen, return! I choose you, Ana!"  
After Rattata was summoned back into its Poké Ball, Squirtle was confronted by an angry and determined Clefairy which didn't even need a command from her mistress to start attacking. "Keep blowing bubbles in that fairy's face!" Blue shouted. Squirtle obeyed as Clefairy continued to use Pound. Eventually, it was down to the wire. The first Pokémon to attack won. "Tackle!" Blue shouted.  
Clefairy used Pound, and Squirtle Tackle, almost simultaneously. However, Clefairy fainted. Leaf dropped to her knees. "How could this happen?" she asked.  
"Simple: I used my knowledge of stats," Blue said. "I took advantage of your Spearow's low Defense, your Rattata's low Special, and your Clefairy's low Speed! And it worked like a charm! Like, am I great or what?  
"I won't accept any prize money this time, because I felt more like teaching you an important lesson on fighting. I hope it stays with you the next time we meet, because I won't go so easy the next time! By the way, I heard the Pokémon League has a lot of tough trainers. I'll have to figure out a way to get past them. You should quit dawdling and get a move on!"  
As Blue left, Leaf returned Clefairy to her Poké Ball, saying, "Don't worry. I'll have you healed at the Pokémon Center as quickly as I can. I'll get you some more friends, and then I'll train you all to be able to give that arrogant punk a piece of humble pie the next time we cross paths!"  
Leaf was stopped by a young man with his eyes closed. "Your eyes always closed, sir?" she asked.  
"Not always," he said. "I saw you fight that rookie just now, and I must admit, you were really determined to defeat him."  
"And I'm even more determined to pay him back with interest when next we meet," Leaf said. "He makes me so MAD!"  
"Be that as it may," the young man continued, "he was the better trainer. He knew your Pokémon's weaknesses, and he exploited them. Sure, you may not have had a Fire-type like the last trainer to take him on, but he knew how to do it. But there's no denying that all three of you still have a lot to learn. Why, I met someone who had a Bulbasaur. She was your age. However, her Bulbasaur didn't have all the necessary tools needed to make it to the top. I suggested teaching her Bulbasaur Vine Whip. Sometimes, the best offense is a good strategy."  
"Thanks for the advice," Leaf said, "but first things first; I've gotta heal my Pokémon."  
"Good choice," the young man said. "Go and do it. That should help keep you and your Pokémon on good terms with each other. By the way, my name's Brock Harrison, Pokémon breeder in training. I have the feeling we'll meet again."  
Leaf hurried over to the Viridian Pokémon Center to heal her fainted party, hoping her Clefairy would still be fond of her after what had happened.

"What happened this time?" Nurse Joy asked.  
Leaf was pretty frank about the situation. "I thought because a Fire-type defeated a Water-type, my own trio could defeat Blue's Squirtle."  
"You weren't thinking clearly," Nurse Joy said as she took Leaf's Pokémon to heal them.  
"Of course not," Leaf said. "A nice young man said just as much to me after the fact, on the way here."  
"Well, considering Squirtle is a Water-type, may I suggest your next catch be a Grass-type or Electric-type? I'm sorry to say there aren't any Grass-types around here, but there's a few Pikachu lurking around Viridian Forest in case this Blue character tries to ambush you again before Pewter City."  
"What number is his buzzer?"  
Nurse Joy said, "1136. Another Pallet Town-based trainer who comes by here frequently, Red, has a buzzer marked with the number 1135. Generally, these buzzers are issued to those who enter a Pokémon Center for the first time, in numerological order."  
"One question," Leaf said. "Did the one with number 1137 have a Bulbasaur?"  
"Yes," Nurse Joy said. "It's probably a coincidence that yesterday's new trainers from Pallet Town received theirs together, in the order in which they received their Pokémon license."  
Leaf certainly thought it was interesting.

As it turned out, Leaf did get ambushed on the way to Pewter City–just before Viridian Forest, even!–but it wasn't Blue.  
It was Edison.  
"You're the Youngster I met in the Pokémon Center!" she exclaimed.  
Edison said, "I was hoping you'd show up soon. You ready?"  
"Yeah," Leaf said. "I choose you, Blitzen!"  
Edison chuckled. "You even brought your Rattata along!" he said. "Let's do this!"  
"All right," Leaf said, "but let's do it quickly; I'd like to go into Viridian Forest so I can catch myself a Pikachu."  
"You must've been routed by either a Flying-type or a Water-type earlier today," Edison said.  
"It was a Water-type, actually."  
"Right, well... GO, RATTATA!"  
The two Rattata went at each other on their respective trainers' commands–Leaf's Rattata with Quick Attack, and Edison's Rattata with Tackle. In the end, Leaf's Rattata won.  
"Wow," Edison said as he forked over the prize money. "I really should train my Rattata so it can attack like yours can. Oh, why don't we exchange phone numbers before we part ways, so we can keep in contact? I may want to battle you again after I've sufficiently trained my Rattata."  
"Sure," Leaf said. "Mine is 0555-55-LEAF."  
Edison said, "Mine's 046R-AT-TATA."  
The two trainers wrote each other's phone numbers down. "Good luck!" Edison said as Leaf walked through the gate to Viridian Forest.

Contrary to what she expected, the very first Pokémon she encountered in the tall grass of the forest was none other than Pikachu. "A girl," said she. "I choose you, Blitzen!"  
Rattata came out of his Poké Ball. "Quick Attack! This looks like a fast one!"  
Rattata hit her once with a Quick Attack before Pikachu smirked as her cheeks turned a bright gold. "Pi-ka-CHUUUUU!"  
One blast of electricity was all it took for Rattata to go numb. He attempted another Quick Attack, but he was fully paralyzed. Pikachu zapped him again, but this time, Leaf knew better. "I'll find out what's wrong with you once I take care of this electro-rodent," she said, "but for now... Blitzen, return! I choose you, Terminator!"  
Spearow pecked at her once before another ThunderShock almost drained his hit points. "That's some strong rodent I'm dealing with," Leaf said. "Terminator, return! I choose you, Ana!"  
Clefairy ran over to Pikachu and pounded her until she was weak, paying little mind to the electric attacks until Pikachu had been weakened sufficiently. "Poké Ball, go!" Leaf shouted triumphantly as she threw a Poké Ball at Pikachu. No matter how hard she tried to escape, the Poké Ball successfully captured her. "I think I'll call you Lita," Leaf said as she started back towards Viridian City.  
Just then, a wild Weedle appeared. Leaf summoned her Spearow, thinking a couple of Pecks would do the trick. It did, but Spearow ended up being poisoned in the process. Leaf ran around, looking for help. She found another youngster. "Oh, hi there," he said. "What are you looking for?"  
"Terminator's been poisoned," Leaf said. "Is there a cure around?"  
The youngster pushed a vial off the nearby tree. "Is this what you need?" he asked.  
Leaf hurried over to Spearow and fed him the contents of the vial. In no time at all, the poison was expelled from Spearow's system.  
"Thanks," she said as she resumed her trip to the Viridian Pokémon Center to heal her Pokémon.  
Little did she know that in spite of her new catch, her journey would soon get a lot tougher...


	3. It Just Bugs Me

"You named her Lita?"  
Leaf said, "Yeah, because I know another electric girl from television."  
"How cute!" Nurse Joy said as she took Leaf's Pokémon to be healed. "I too am familiar with that program, so I know exactly what you're talking about."  
Leaf said, "Blitzen got paralyzed trying to lower her hit points sufficiently, and Terminator not only tried and failed spectacularly–stopping short of fainting, even!–but got poisoned fighting a Weedle afterwards. Luckily, a nearby youngster gave me an antidote."  
"The Poké Mart has a lot of antidotes in stock," Nurse Joy said. "They're in high demand due to the rash of Weedle-induced poisonings that's been going on just north of here recently. There are also Pokémon that can absorb Weedle's Poison Stings without being poisoned themselves. You can find them on Route 22. Only a Poison-type, as far as I know, is immune to poison, though I heard Magnemite is also immune. May I suggest catching a Nidoran?"  
"Why?" Leaf asked.  
"Both the male and the female are Poison-types. If you encounter a Weedle, summon one of them in case the Weedle tries to attack using its needle. Oh, and I must commend you on your pitting Spearow against one of them, even though it had just taken a lot of damage from what is now your Pikachu, plus your quick thinking when it took poison from its stinger. Keep up the good work, but in the future, I suggest you don't pit Spearow against Pikachu anymore."  
"Thanks for the advice," Leaf said.

In addition to the lone Poké Ball she had found lying around in Viridian Forest, Leaf now had a couple more Poké Balls on her person as she went to Route 22 to catch herself a Nidoran. After a few Rattata, which Clefairy took care of, and Spearow, which Pikachu fried using her electric power, Leaf finally encountered a Nidoran(F). "I choose you, Lita!" she shouted. Pikachu ran up to the Nidoran(F) and fried her with a single ThunderShock at Leaf's command. The Nidoran(F) was severely weakened by her attack.  
"Great job, Lita! Return!" Leaf said. Pikachu returned to her mistress's side as she took one of her Poké Balls. "Poké Ball, go!" she shouted as she threw it at Nidoran(F), catching it in one go. "Since you're a girl, I think I'll call you Needle Ann."  
Leaf suddenly paused and was rather contemplative for a minute or two. "It is not right," said she, "that she should be alone in my party. Unfortunately, the two boys I've got on me aren't really suitable; Terminator is just too aggressive, and Blitzen would likely play hard-to-get. Oh! Nurse Joy said there's also a male. I think I've got the perfect mate for Needle Ann!"  
As if on cue, a wild Nidoran(M) appeared. Summoning her Spearow, she shouted, "I choose you, Terminator!"  
Spearow and his opponent pecked at each other. Both were weakened, but Nidoran(M) moreso. Leaf recalled Spearow back into his Poké Ball as she took another empty one. "Poké Ball, go!" she shouted as she threw it at Nidoran(M). However, it just barely escaped. "It's of no consequence," said she. "I've still got a couple more on me. Poké Ball, go!"  
This time, she caught the Nidoran(M) successfully. "As for you," she said, "I'm going to call you Needle Ron."  
She then ran back to the Pokémon Center.

One hour later, she was in for a big surprise. As soon as Clefairy and Pikachu left their Poké Balls, they said in unison, "Happy birthday!"  
Leaf said, "Thanks, though I just turned 10 yesterday... wait, what?"  
As it hit her that her Pokémon just talked to her, she jumped backwards in fright. "What did you do to them?" she loudly asked Nurse Joy.  
"Oh, I just thought I'd test a serum I created on them as I healed them," she replied. "In fact, I did this to everyone in your party. I only completed the serum a few hours ago, in my spare time, and I wanted to test it out before submitting it to the Pokémon Inspection Agency."  
"What is this Pokémon Inspection Agency?" Leaf asked.  
Nurse Joy said, "Also known as the Ministry of Pokémon. The Pokémon League answers only to it. Among the jobs its agents carry out are the inspection of Pokémon Gyms to see if they comply with Pokémon League rules and regulations, the shuttering of non-compliant Gyms, the civil investigation of trainers suspected of not treating their Pokémon right, and the regulation of drugs designed for Pokémon. If this drug is approved by the Ministry, it'll likely be priced extremely high, so consider this your lucky day."  
Leaf hesitatingly said, "Sure."  
"Let's go-pika!" Pikachu said. "I'm ready to fry some Spearow-pika!"  
"Sorry, Lita," Leaf said, "but where we're going next, there are no Spearow. Right now, I've got to concentrate on training the Nidoran Duo. Plus, I'm going to try to complete my Pokédex, and I don't have a Pidgey yet."  
"I ain't afraid of no Pidgey-pippi!" Clefairy said.  
"The next time I see one, Ana," Leaf said, "I'll let you at it, and then I'll try to catch it."

As it so happened, the next encounter was with a Lv. 5 Pidgey, which threw some sand into Clefairy's face. However, she didn't let the sand stop her and eventually sufficiently weakened the Pidgey. "Poké Ball, go!" Leaf shouted, catching Pidgey in one go. "Would Robin be a perfect nickname for you?"  
All of a sudden, the Poké Ball dissolved in a flash of light. "What? Where'd it go?" Leaf suddenly found herself in a panic, and she found it so hard to keep it together, dozens of Rattata ended up swarming them, along with another flock of Pidgey. Spearow, Rattata, and the Nidoran Duo came out of their Poké Balls promptly to defend Leaf, and while they did grow stronger, by the time it was over they were in no shape to fight.  
"You idiot-ratta!" Rattata groaned. "Why did you panic-ratta?"  
"The P-P-Pidgey I just caught!" Leaf shouted. "It vanished! Where'd it go?"  
"Calm down before you get us all killed-ratta!" Rattata shouted. "I suggest you ask Nurse Joy about it, since you're going to have to take us to be healed anyway-ratta!"  
Leaf calmed down. "Now that you mention it," said she, "she seems to have all the answers."  
She then recalled all of her Pokémon before returning to the Pokémon Center.

"What happened here?" Nurse Joy asked as she took Leaf's Pokémon to be healed.  
"I just freaked out."  
"Why?"  
Leaf was honest and to the point. "My Pidgey, which I nicknamed Robin, disappeared right after I had caught it."  
"I can understand the confusion," Nurse Joy said. "Have you ever heard of the Pokémon Storage System?"  
"No," Leaf said.  
"That's where your Pidgey went," Nurse Joy said. "You're only allowed to carry six Pokémon on you at a time, including walking Pokémon. The Pokémon Storage System automatically transfers any excess Pokémon to a box within its system. Also, you don't have to worry about your new catch being in poor condition when you pick it up; the Pokémon Storage System automatically heals it, though it takes some time."  
Leaf decided to train her Rattata some more as Pidgey recuperated.

After swapping Rattata for Pidgey using the Pokémon Storage System, Leaf stocked up on some antidotes and returned to Viridian Forest. Immediately after stepping into the tall grass, she encountered a Caterpie. "Sorry, Terminator," said she, "but I intend to catch this one. I choose you, Robin!"  
Pidgey exited its Poké Ball before kicking up some sand on Leaf's command. Caterpie tried to slow him down with String Shot, but Pidgey dodged the first time and hit it with a Gust. That was enough to send Caterpie's hit points plummeting just enough for Leaf to throw her Poké Ball and catch it on her first try. "I think it'll do fine without a nickname," she said as the Poké Ball disappeared into the Pokémon Storage System. "Right now, I can't think of any."  
Just then, a Weedle ambushed her. "I choose you, Needle Ann!"  
As Needle Ann (who, as will Needle Ron, will be exclusively referred to by her nickname from here on out to avoid confusion) exited her Poké Ball, she asked, "You called-nido?"  
"Yeah," Leaf said. "This one's poisonous! Go on, scratch it!"  
Needle Ann used Scratch. Weedle retaliated with Poison Sting, but Needle Ann wasn't fazed. "You trying to poison a Poison-type-nido?"  
Weedle backed up a bit. "Well, guess what-nido?" Needle Ann continued as she sharpened her claws. "Not happening-nido!"  
She scratched the Weedle again. Weedle tried to slow her down with String Shot, but she managed to get past it and scratch Weedle a third time, significantly weakening Weedle but not quite dropping it. "Good job, Needle Ann! Return!" Leaf said. "Poké Ball, go!"  
The Weedle was caught instantly. Just before it went to the Pokémon Storage System, Leaf said, "I think I'll call this one J. Roger."  
Needle Ron popped out of his Poké Ball as another Weedle showed up. "Now don't tell me-nido," said he. "I'm up-nido?"  
A bit surprised, Leaf said, "Sure. Horn Attack!"  
Needle Ron was able to drop Weedle in as many turns as it had taken for Needle Ann to get the previous Weedle to the point where Leaf could catch it.  
He, Needle Ann, and Spearow took some time to mop up the Pokémon in the area. This pleased Spearow to no end ("At last, some enemies worthy of grinding my beak upon-suzu!"). Sometimes, Pikachu would get impatient for her turn and fry Spearow into returning to his Poké Ball ("Don't you dare leave me waiting my turn-pika! Pi-ka-CHUUU!") before joining the fight. At other times, a wild Pikachu would appear; those were taken care of by Clefairy. By the time Leaf swapped out the Nidoran Duo for Caterpie and Weedle, all five had become quite strong.  
However, Spearow had also gotten sick and tired of being zapped by Pikachu all the time. During a fight against a wild Caterpie, he saw her cheeks turn bright gold and snapped, "Don't even think about it-suzu!"  
However, Pikachu was insistent. "OK, that does it-suzu!" Spearow shouted before turning his beak on her. "PI-KAHAHAHAHA! That tickles-pika!"  
Spearow gave Pikachu a dirty look and asked, "Are you mocking me-suzu?"  
"That's enough, you two!" Leaf snapped. "Terminator, get back to where you were... huh? Where'd it go?"  
During the brawl between Spearow and Pikachu, the wild Caterpie had taken the opportunity to flee. "That's strange," Leaf said. "I thought only Weedle ran away?"  
Just then, Spearow saw and recognized the youngster who had given Leaf the antidote she had given him. "You're the youngster who saved my life-suzu!" he exclaimed.  
The youngster asked, "Did your Pokémon just talk?"  
Leaf said, "Long story. How come wild Pokémon flee fights sometimes?"  
The youngster, having recovered from his mild shock, said, "I don't know. They just do so sometimes. Anyway, do your Clefairy and Pikachu ever stay in their Poké Balls?"  
"Only when they're being healed," Leaf said. "They follow me around everywhere I go for some reason."  
"I came here with some friends of my own," the youngster said. "They're all looking for fights. Me, I'm just looking for a Pikachu."  
"Good luck," Leaf said before progressing down the natural maze called Viridian Forest.  
It then occurred to her that she needed to train her Caterpie and Weedle. As she did so, she observed that they both underwent a very early evolution, respectively becoming Metapod and Kakuna and in the process learning Harden.  
"Hey! You have Pokémon!" a young boy shouted behind her. He was wearing a slouch hat, a white tank top, and blue shorts. "Are you one of that kid's friends?"  
The boy's eyes widened. "Oh! I see you've already met my friend Ritchie. The name's Rick. We both use diminutives to distinguish each other."  
"What have you got?" Leaf asked.  
"Just a Weedle and a Caterpie, but they should do fine," Rick said. "Come on, let's battle!"  
"I choose you, J. Roger!"  
Kakuna stared down his evolutionary predecessor just before the first strike. "Poison Sting!"  
Kakuna hit Rick's Weedle with his stinger. "Yes, I know Weedle's immune to poison, which is why I summoned J. Roger in the first place," Leaf said, "but Kakuna's only offensive attack is Poison Sting, and that's only if you evolve it from Weedle. Being a pure Bug-type, Caterpie is not only more susceptible to Poison Sting, it can even be poisoned by it!"  
Rick said, "I should've told Doug that! You sure know your Bug-types well."  
"Only as far as I've traveled."  
"Weedle! Poison Sting!"  
Kakuna hardened his body to lessen the impact, then retaliated with another Poison Sting, withstanding a few String Shots along the way before finally dropping Weedle. "I'm the sporting type," Leaf said, "so I'll even the field for your Caterpie. J. Roger, return! I choose you, Metapod!"  
Both Metapod and Rick's Caterpie started tackling each other. In just six turns, Caterpie fainted. "No!" Rick exclaimed. "Caterpie can't hack it!"  
Leaf accepted the prize money with a look of confusion on her face. "I don't get it," said she. "What do you mean–?"  
"Ssh!" Rick suddenly said. "You'll scare the bugs away."  
No sooner did Leaf start to continue north than another bug catcher–Doug–caught sight of her. "Yo!" he shouted. "You can't jam out if you're a Pokémon trainer!"  
"Now don't tell me," Leaf said. "You're Doug, with the Kakuna?"  
"Yeah, but I won't be using it for now," Doug said. "At the moment, I'm going to use one of my Weedle."  
Doug summoned his Weedle. Leaf summoned her Kakuna, shouting, "I choose you, J. Roger!"  
Kakuna knew what to do. He took great pride in his stinger, and he knew not only how to fight with it but also that it was the only way he could fight to begin with, so he used it a lot on Weedle. Leaf only stopped once, to give him a Potion when his health was low. The next turn, he floored Weedle. Leaf summoned Spearow in Kakuna's place, so as to deny Doug the satisfaction of a Kakuna vs. Kakuna fight ("I'm not the immature type!"). Three pecks from Spearow was all it took before they switched Pokémon again, with Doug being forced to summon Weedle in Kakuna's place and Leaf recalling Spearow in favor of Kakuna. "Soon you will understand," Leaf said, "how dangerous a Kakuna can be if trained right."  
The fight ended in several quick turns, with Kakuna and Weedle hitting each other with their stingers. "Huh? I ran out of Pokémon," Doug said as he reached around his shorts to see if he had any more Pokémon on him. "Darn! I'm gonna have to catch some stronger ones."

After the fight, Kakuna was closer to evolving than Metapod was. Thankfully, there weren't many Weedle in the tall grass, just a bunch of Caterpie and a few more Metapod for her Metapod to tackle whenever he got the chance. Leaf took a few trips to the Pokémon Center in order to keep her Pokémon fighting fit, and then she continued training her Pokémon.  
It took a few days, but she was finally about to reach the other side of Viridian Forest. All of a sudden...  
"Hey, wait up!" yet another bug catcher shouted. "What's the hurry?"  
Leaf said, "Oh, I was just going to go see the Pewter City gym leader in order to fight for the Boulder Badge. Nurse Joy told me about it."

It was just before the final stretch of Viridian Forest. Nurse Joy had noticed her Pokémon had all become quite strong, and that a couple of them had even evolved. "Impressive," said she. "You're really toughening up your Pokémon. But you'll need to do more than that if you dare to challenge the gym leaders of this region."  
Leaf asked, "Where do I start?"  
"The gym here's closed, unfortunately," Nurse Joy said. "Its leader has been away for a while, and he didn't name any successor, so the Ministry closed it up until what time, if any, he returns. May I suggest going to the gym at Pewter City, just past Viridian Forest?"  
Leaf spat out the juice she was drinking in utter surprise. "There's a gym there!?"  
"Sure," Nurse Joy. "It'd be pretty easy for you if you started with a Bulbasaur or a Squirtle. I suggest you strategize a bit."  
"Of course," Leaf said. "As the fine young man named Brock told me, sometimes the best offense is a good strategy."

"So that's the way it was," Leaf said, "and now I have an added incentive to go to Pewter City."  
"You'll have to get past me first, Game Girl!" the boy said. "Sammy's the name, and bug battles are my game."  
"I choose you, Metapod!" Leaf shouted, summoning the green-skinned cocoon as Sammy summoned his Weedle. It was more powerful than even Doug's two Weedle and even almost dropped her Metapod in two turns with just its stinger. Thankfully, it didn't poison him. "I'm not pushing your luck any further! Metapod, return!" Leaf shouted. "Do it, J. Roger!"  
Both of her bugs were about to evolve yet again. It was now up to Kakuna to finish the job, taking Weedle down with several Poison Stings. "I give! You're good at this!" Sammy said. "Please, go ahead!"  
All of a sudden, Metapod came out of his Poké Ball, and both he and Kakuna started glowing silver. "I recognize that glow!" Leaf said. "They're doing it again!"  
Within seconds, the final stage of evolution was complete. Metapod was now Butterfree, and Kakuna Beedrill.  
"Well!" Sammy said as he handed over the prize money. "You learn something new every day. I think I should consider evolving my Weedle as soon as I can. Now would be as good a time as any, I believe."  
Leaf continued on her way, ready to challenge the Pewter City gym leader, thinking to herself about what type a Bulbasaur and a Squirtle, if she had either, could defeat easily.


	4. The Boulder Badge

As Nurse Joy had instructed her during an earlier healing session, the first thing Leaf did was visit the local Pokémon Center to heal her Pokémon.  
"Nurse Joy? What are you doing here?" she asked. "Didn't I see you in Viridian City?"  
"That was my first cousin once removed," Nurse Joy said. "We're both in the business of making your Pokémon fighting fit, no matter where you are. It's a family business, really."  
Leaf deposited her Pokémon with Nurse Joy, who said, "I see my cousin told you how things are done around here. I believe you may very well be on the right track to becoming a Pokémon Master."  
"So it seems," Leaf said. "Let me know if Butterfree and J. Roger have learned any new moves upon evolution."  
"If my memory serves me right, they do," Nurse Joy said. "Who is this J. Roger, anyhow?"  
"My just-evolved Beedrill, according to my Pokédex," Leaf replied.  
Nurse Joy said, "Then J. Roger should know Fury Attack by now. Upon evolving from Metapod, Butterfree, on the other hand, learns Confusion. It's a powerful Psychic-type move. I recommend you use it against the gym leader's Pokémon given the right opportunity. They're weak against Grass-type, Water-type, and special attacks, according to Mr. Clyde. He's a helpful guy; you should get some tips from him every chance you get."  
Leaf smiled and said, "I will."

Leaf decided to consult her handbook to see what it had to say about special attacks. It said that there were two types of attacks: physical and special. Each dealt a different type of damage from each other. Special attacks included those of the Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Dragon, and Dark types.  
"You're not from here," someone said right behind her. "Where are you from?"  
"I come from Pallet Town," Leaf said. "A humble little hamlet some miles south of here."  
The young man said, "In any case, you seem to be taking this Pokémon training business seriously. Actually, there aren't many serious Pokémon trainers around here. They're all like bug catchers in my opinion, but our gym leader is totally into it!"  
"Does the local Poké Mart stock Potions?" Leaf asked.  
"Of course!"  
Leaf ran towards the Poké Mart, but she wasn't looking both ways and ended up tripping into a garden being tended to by another man. "Hey, lady! You know what I'm doing?"  
"No," Leaf said.  
"I'm spraying Repel to keep Pokémon out of my garden!" he said.  
"I'm real sorry about your fence," Leaf said. "I was heading to the Poké Mart to get me some Potions."  
"Don't mention it," the man said. "That fence is superfluous as long as Repel does its stuff."  
Leaf continued to the Poké Mart.

"Welcome to the Poké Mart! All your item needs fulfilled! Identification please."  
Leaf showed the clerk her Pokédex. "Excellent!" said he. "How may I help you? You wanna buy or sell?"  
Leaf said, "I'm looking to buy as many Potions as I need."  
"Take all the time you need," the clerk said.  
While looking for the Potions, Leaf overheard a guy complaining about how someone had ripped him off. "Some shady old man convinced me to buy this really weird fish Pokémon! It's totally weak, and it cost 500 Poké Dollars!"  
Leaf asked herself, "What could that fish Pokémon possibly be?"

Following the purchase, Leaf picked up her Pokémon before being intercepted by yet another man. "Did you check out the museum?" he asked.  
"All I've been to around here," Leaf said, "is the Pokémon Center, the Poké Mart, and a garden."  
"Really? You absolutely have to go!"  
The man grabbed Leaf by the wrist and ran over to the Pewter Museum of Science. "It's right here! Of course, you'll have to pay to get in, but it'll be worth it! See you around!"  
Leaf decided she may as well, since she was on a mission from Professor Oak.

"It's 500 Poké Dollars for a child's ticket. Would you like to come in?"  
"Sure," Leaf said. "I heard there's a fossil exhibit here."  
After she paid up, the man at the desk said, "Thank you! Take plenty of time to look!"  
The first exhibit Leaf checked out were the fossil Pokémon. She took out her Pokédex in an attempt to identify both of them, but the Pokédex couldn't. Fortunately, both had their names printed clearly. She took a notebook out of her bag and sketched both fossil exhibits so she could return to them once she was able to get more info on them. The first set of fossils belonged to an Aerodactyl, and the other to a Kabutops.  
Leaf went upstairs and found a meteorite exhibit. The meteorite was assumed to be a fragment of the Moon Stone, which caused Clefairy to behave erratically. Leaf had to pick her up to keep her from trying to break through the glass. "I'm not about to let you vandalize any exhibit here," said she, "even if it is a Moon Stone."  
Clefairy pouted. "But we Clefairy worship the Moon Stone-pippi! We believe it'll make us stronger-pippi!"  
"You can use the Moon Stone after I find one that's not being exhibited," Leaf said. "So please, be patient."  
The final exhibit was a space shuttle exhibit. The shuttle, a scale replica of the Columbia, was accurately designed, down to the last detail. As she and her Pokémon were admiring it, they overheard a young girl behind them. "I want a Pikachu! It's so cute!" she exclaimed upon seeing Leaf's Pikachu.  
"Yeah, a Pikachu soon, I promise," her father said. "I'd like to take that Pikachu off you, young lady, but it's too attached to you. I guess I'll look in Viridian Forest, then."  
Leaf said, "Good luck."

"I think you should've done that little girl the favor-pika," Pikachu said as they left the museum. "Still, you found quite a few of my kind other than me in the forest-pika, so catching one of my brethren shouldn't be too difficult for him-pika. Besides, I like you a lot-pika."  
"Tell me something, Lita," Leaf said. "Do you always end sentences with part of your own name?"  
"Well, it does remind me of who I am-pika," Pikachu replied. "A lot of Pokémon, if they know human language, end their sentences similarly-pika."  
Suddenly, Leaf came across a foreboding sign... a sign of things to come in her journey. She read the sign out loud.  
"NOTICE! Thieves have been stealing Pokémon fossils at Mt. Moon! Please call Pewter Police with any info!"  
"You're a trainer, right?"  
It was then that Leaf noticed the youngster standing near the sign. "You from here? Because I'm not."  
"Actually, yes. The name's Colton," said he, "and the gym leader here has requested I recommend his gym to potential new challengers. Come on, follow me!"  
Leaf did so, as did Clefairy and Pikachu. "If you have the right stuff," Colton said before leaving them outside of Pewter Gym, "show him what you're made of."  
"Oh! You have a Clefairy!" said a picnicker just outside of the gym. "It's rumored Clefairy came from the Moon. They appeared after the Moon Stone fell on Mt. Moon."  
Clefairy asked, "You an expert on the Moon Stone-pippi?"  
The picnicker, mildly surprised that a Clefairy could talk, said, "No, I just heard about it. Anyway, if you're going to take on the gym leader, then I should wish you three good luck, because you're going to need it."  
Leaf, accompanied by Clefairy and Pikachu, entered the gym.

"Hiya! Name's Clyde, and I'm the gym guide! I can tell you have what it takes to become a Pokémon champ!"  
Leaf stopped at the sound of the hipster's voice. "I'm no trainer," said he, "but I can tell you how to win! It's a free service! Shall I take you to the top?"  
"Sure," Leaf said.  
"All right! Let's get happening!" he shouted. "It will be tough for your Pikachu at this gym! Electric attacks are harmless against Ground-type Pokémon."  
Pikachu asked, "You sure-pika?"  
Clyde didn't seem the least bit fazed by what he had just witnessed. "Well, if you do train your Pikachu hard enough... really, it depends on how strong your Pikachu is."  
Pikachu decided to impress Clyde. Her cheeks turned bright gold again. "Pi-ka-CHUUUU!" she shouted as she fried the ground beneath her, causing everyone, human and Pokémon alike, to get at least some voltage administered to them. The most damage it did, however, was to a red bicycle... which happened to be owned by a lass that stopped Leaf as she continued towards the gym leader. "Your Pikachu may be impressive even by our standards," said she, "but my Pokémon are stronger and will administer double the punishment for what you did to my bike!"  
The lass, named Cherry, wore a top with poofy sleeves and a pink sailor collar, jean shorts, pink tights, and black Mary Janes. "I half expected you to be wearing a schoolgirl uniform."  
"I go to a public school," Cherry said. "I decided to specialize in Ground-types because I learned how strong they are. I caught mine in and around Route 2. Both I and the trainer that comes after me have been to Diglett's Cave, as you'll soon see!"  
Cherry then summoned a Diglett. Leaf decided to use her Clefairy, who proceeded to pound her opponent until she fainted. Cherry proceeded to summon her other Pokémon, a Nidoran(F). "Ana, return! I choose you, Butterfree! Oh, why aren't you using a Ground-type?"  
Cherry said, "I learned from my teacher that Nidoran will eventually evolve into a Ground-type upon exposure to a Moon Stone. Speaking of which, why did you recall your Clefairy?"  
"According to the handbook my mom gave me the day before I got my Pokémon license," Leaf said, "I have the upper hand. Confusion!"  
Butterfree used his psychic powers to drop Cherry's Nidoran(F) in a single turn. "Unbelievable!" she exclaimed as she handed over the prize money. "I can assure you, though, that your victory was just a fluke. I'm the only one here who has a type particularly vulnerable to your Psychic hocus pocus!"  
"I doubt it," Leaf said. "Psychic attacks are special, after all. My handbook said so. Oh, may I suggest taking your bike to Nurse Joy?"  
"Why?" Cherry asked. "Isn't the only thing she's good at healing Pokémon?"  
"Not the one here," Leaf said. "I highly suggest going to the one stationed in Viridian City. She's a hobbyist, or so I've been told."  
She advanced a few yards further, but a boy wearing a scout uniform intercepted her, saying, "Stop right there, lady! You're light years away from facing Mr. Harrison!"  
"I heard about him," Leaf said. "Is he the mountain man who was present when Professor Oak first encountered a Clefairy east of here?"  
"Who cares? Liam's the name," said he, "and I'll put your Butterfree to shame!"  
"Save your jive crap for Pokémon coordination," Leaf said in utter annoyance, "and just show me your Diglett."  
Liam was happy to oblige her. Clefairy, who had polished off one of the Potions Leaf had earlier bought, said, "I'm ready to do this again-pippi!"  
"All right, Ana," Leaf said, "but how are you going to do it?"  
"Easy-pippi!" said she. "Just cover your ears-pippi."  
"Why?"  
She soon found out as Clefairy curtsied to her opponent and started to sing. Within seconds, Diglett was asleep. An enraged Clefairy then proceeded to pound it several times in succession, with Diglett waking up just in time to see the fist that dropped it seconds later. "It's of no consequence," Liam said as he recalled Diglett and summoned Sandshrew. "I'll bet you can't use the same strategy against my Sandshrew... darn, not again!"  
Once again, Clefairy curtsied to her opponent and started singing. This time, Liam didn't bother to cover his ears. Clefairy's post-song rage did some serious damage to Sandshrew, but unlike Diglett, Sandshrew was able to wake up soon enough to retaliate a few times. It was Scratch vs. Pound until the one with the claws lost to the one with the fist. Liam got up just in time to lose to Leaf.  
"They didn't teach you strategy in grade school, it would seem," Leaf said as she accepted Liam's prize money.  
"They apparently didn't teach me math, either," Liam said. "Now I remember! Light years isn't time, it measures distance! Well, I'll admit that when it comes to Pokémon, you're pretty hot. Not as hot as Brock, though."  
Leaf gasped. She was certain she had heard the name somewhere, but she didn't know that the Brock she had met was the gym leader. It dawned upon her just as the young man, this time wearing nothing but his khaki pants and rubber boots, caught her eye. She slowly recognized him. "You're the Pewter City gym leader?"  
"In the flesh," Brock said. "Oh, don't forget to heal your Clefairy."  
Leaf gave another Potion to her Clefairy. "I hope you'll excuse my not wearing a shirt," Brock continued. "It can get a bit stuffy in here. Anyway, what do you believe in as a trainer?"  
Leaf said, "I believe in my handbook."  
"Then you should know by now that you're at a major disadvantage, I'm sorry to have to say, because my Pokémon are all the Rock type," Brock said. "Do you still want to challenge me?"  
"Challenge you? Heck, I'd like to keep doing this," Leaf said, "until I figure out a way to defeat you with all the Pokémon I have on me!"  
"Fine! Show me what you've got!" Brock said. "I must further warn you, though, that as for me, I believe in rock-hard defense and determination. Go, Geodude!"  
"I choose you, Butterfree!"  
Geodude and Butterfree were the first combatants of Leaf's first battle against a gym leader. "Oh, dear," Brock said. "I was hoping you'd take my lesson from a few days ago to heart. See, if you studied your handbook, you'd realize that were my Geodude to know a Rock-type move, Butterfree would be doubly weak against it."  
"I quite understand that," Leaf said. "It even told me all the weaknesses, resistances, and immunities of each type. However, I was told that your Pokémon don't have a very good special."  
Brock said, "True, that."  
"That said," Leaf said, "Confusion!"  
Butterfree used its psychic power to damage Geodude and even confuse him. He hurt himself in his confusion, and Butterfree finished him off with another Confusion, not wanting to chance his enemy attacking successfully while confused. "It's of no consequence," Brock said. "My Onix has a better-trained mind and has a better chance of withstanding Confusion."  
With that, he recalled his Geodude and summoned Onix in his place. Butterfree used Confusion, as always, but Onix countered with Bide. "What you have just seen is Onix using Bide, meaning your Butterfree, should he do him any damage, has two turns to drop him."  
Leaf knew she had to make her next two hits count. However, two uses of Confusion turned out to not be enough, and Onix unleashed its energy with such a vengeance, Butterfree fainted. "That was my best shot!" Leaf exclaimed. "But I'm not giving up for one second!"  
A boy walked up to her. "You're not Colton, and you're not Liam, either," said she. "Who are you?"  
The boy said, "I'm Forrest Harrison, Brock's younger brother."  
Leaf said, "Do me a favor, Forrest, and get Butterfree over to the Pokémon Center while I continue to fight for the Boulder Badge."  
The boy left with the corresponding Poké Ball after Leaf recalled her Butterfree. "J. Roger, avenge your counterpart!" she said.  
Beedrill decided to poison Onix with his stinger. However, once he did, he was disappointed in no time at all. "It's no use," Brock said, "as long as I still have at least one Full Heal on me."  
Beedrill was so furious, he went at Onix with Fury Attack, in an attempt to do as much damage as he could, and he managed to do some more damage before being tackled into oblivion. "J. Roger, return! Get him, Terminator!"  
Spearow pecked at Onix twice before getting dropped. "Lucky for you," Brock said, "neither of my Pokémon know a Rock-type attack, or else your Spearow wouldn't have even had a chance."  
Having swapped out Pidgey in favor of Rattata at the Pokémon Center, Leaf summoned the rat. "Quick Attack, Blitzen! Whittle your enemy's energy down further!"  
It took a few more turns for Onix to drop Rattata, but only because each time, Rattata used Quick Attack, and Onix missed once or twice. "Ana, it's your turn to shine. Pound him until he drops!"  
Clefairy walked over to Onix and pounded him. This time, Clefairy had three turns before fainting. By this time, both Leaf and Brock were exhausted. "No wonder you're not wearing your shirt," Leaf said. "It takes a lot of effort, and a lot of sweat, for a Pokémon battle to occur!"  
"You got it," Brock said. "Onix is pretty weak, so why don't you let Pikachu have a go?"  
"Sure," Leaf said, "even though I'm not really confident at this point. But still... the enemy's weak! Finish him, Lita!"  
"You got it-pika!"  
Pikachu ran over to Onix and did a few Quick Attacks, but Onix kept laying down the Tackle and missed only once. Then, he did something she wasn't hoping for: it used Bide again. "I know I've got two turns-pika," Pikachu said. "Still, I'm going to make them count-pika! My mistress is counting on me to win her a badge-pika, so I'm not about to disappoint her-pika!"  
To Leaf's utter amazement, Pikachu used her first turn to do another Quick Attack, and just before Onix could unleash energy, her cheeks turned bright gold. "Are you kidding me?" Brock asked. "You know that won't work!"  
"My mistress does-pika, but she also knows that if you train an Electric-type hard enough, it can even destroy a Ground-type-pika!" Pikachu said, the gold tone of her cheeks still intensifying. "And besides, 'impossible' n'est pas Français-pika! PI-KA-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"  
With all her might, Pikachu unleashed a powerful ThunderShock that managed to do the impossible: drop Onix. Even Leaf, who had taken some of the voltage, was amazed. Brock, though surprised, managed to retain his composure. "I took you for granted," said he. "You really do know how to train your Pokémon, and perhaps more than any of the others your Pikachu really loves you."  
Exhausted but still smiling, Pikachu said, "You'd better believe it-pika!"  
"So," Brock continued, "as your reward, I hereby confer upon you this official Pokémon League Boulder Badge."  
Leaf accepted the badge, asking, "Does it come with anything?"  
"It makes all of your Pokémon more powerful, and if any of your Pokémon know Flash, it can now be used outside of battle, as the badge's properties allow its owner's Pokémon to act as temporary flashlights in dark caves such as Rock Tunnel. Oh, before I forget, take this with you."  
Leaf took the device, which was numbered 34, and asked, "What do I do with it?"  
"It's called a Technical Machine, and it contains a technique that you can teach most Pokémon. However, it's good for only one use, so plan it carefully. This one is number 34, which contains Bide. That's the move I used to defeat your Butterfree early on. When a Pokémon uses Bide, it absorbs damage in battle and then pays it back double.  
"There are all kinds of trainers in the world, and you seem to be very gifted as a Pokémon trainer. Some raise Pokémon for fights, while others see them as pets. Myself... like I said earlier, I'm in training to become a Pokémon breeder. Go, now, and test your abilities at Cerulean Gym."  
As Leaf and Pikachu left, with the fainted Clefairy in her Poké Ball, Clyde said, "Just as I thought... you're Pokémon champ material!"

Upon healing her Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, Leaf happened across Red. "You haven't taken on Brock yet, have you?"  
Red said, "No. Why?"  
"What Pokémon did you start with?" Leaf asked.  
Red said, "A Charmander. Why?"  
"Has it learned Ember yet?"  
"Why, yes, it has."  
"Irony of ironies... the student is now becoming the teacher. I know Ember isn't going to be very effective, but may I suggest using only that against Brock's Pokémon?"  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Well, because his Pokémon may be resistant against Fire-type attacks, but they're weak against special attacks, and Ember happens to be both, if you'll excuse the paradox. Oh, and don't damage his Onix while he's using Bide."  
Red looked at her, surprised. "What does it do?"  
"Just charges for a couple of turns, waiting for a Pokémon to attack, and dealing back double the damage inflicted upon it. It took my Butterfree out. May I suggest using Growl until Onix unleashes energy, should he ever use Bide?"  
"Sure," Red said. "See you later."  
As Red prepared to have his Pokémon healed, Leaf overheard a phone conversation a middle-aged man wearing a light gray trenchcoat and flipping a coin was having.  
"...What!? Team Rocket is at Mt. Moon?"  
He dropped the coin on the floor below him. Leaf picked it up and gave it to him, saying, "Here, sir. I believe you dropped this."  
Taking the coin, he said, "I'm on the phone! Scram!"  
Leaf left the Pokémon Center, wondering if this Team Rocket she had just heard about could be associated with the fossil thieves the signpost on the outskirts of Pewter City had mentioned.  
Meanwhile, the mysterious gambler finished his phone conversation and took a good, long look at a photo he had on him of him with his wife and his young twin-tailed daughter Iris.


	5. Hall of Trainers

When Leaf first read the Pewter Police's billboard, she was taken to the gym by a youngster who was hired by Brock to advertise the gym. This time, the youngster, Colton, was gone, so she decided to search for him to thank him for helping to get her quest underway.  
As she advanced a bit further down the route, she saw a gate. To the side was another sign relating to what was coming.  
"ROUTE 3 HALL OF TRAINERS. Proceed only if you have earned the Boulder Badge. Beyond this point are strong trainers."  
"Sure, I've earned the Boulder Badge," Leaf said as she passed through the gate.  
Despite her expecting trainers beyond the gate, though, she was in for a rather rude surprise when a lass, name of Janice, walked up to her and said with a rather offended tone in her voice, "Excuse me! You looked at me, didn't you?"  
Leaf was confused. Who did she think she was talking to?

"That's right, I'm talking to you!" Janice shouted as she summoned a Pidgey.  
Leaf groaned. "This is gonna be too easy," said she. "Just do what you usually do, Lita."  
"Gladly-pika!" Pikachu said. "Pi-ka-CHUUUUU!"  
Janice summoned another Pidgey in her place, but Pikachu fried her as well. "You're mean!" the stunned lass pouted.  
"That's what you get for imagining offenses against your person," Leaf said. "You seriously need some help. All I'm trying to do is get past this hall of trainers."  
"Yes, well, quit staring if you don't want to fight!" Janice exclaimed as she handed over the prize money. "Oh, and in the event you do want to fight again, look me up at 027-555-5277."  
Leaf recognized the next trainer on the path. "Colton?"  
Colton said, "Hi, I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear! Oh, you've defeated Brock, right? Well, let's see how you fare against ME!"  
The first Pokémon Colton summoned was a Sandshrew. "I choose you, Butterfree!" Leaf shouted as she threw the Poké Ball into the playing field. "Confusion!"  
It took a couple of tries to drop the Sandshrew, after which Colton summoned Ekans. "Big mistake, kid," Leaf said. "Confusion!"  
This time, Ekans fainted before he could strike once. The final Pokémon, Sandshrew, also fell to a couple of Confusions. As he handed over the prize money, Colton said, "Now that's what I call a skilled trainer! Oh, my number's 027-720-0000, in case you want to fight again."  
As with Janice, Leaf gave Colton her number before proceeding. The last trainer with a phone number, a camper named Ben, greeted her thus: "Ciao! You don't have a chance against me! Go, Rattata!"  
"That's what you think," Leaf said. "I choose you, Butterfree! Confusion!"  
Unfortunately, Rattata drew first blood with a Quick Attack that nearly took the wind out of Butterfree, but he managed to drop his opponent by using Confusion twice. This forced Ben to summon his other Pokémon, an Ekans, which Butterfree proceeded on obliterate immediately. "I don't believe it!" Ben exclaimed as he forked over the prize money. "Oh, you storing your Pokémon via PC?"  
"I've stored three so far," Leaf said.  
"Each Box can hold 20 Pokémon," Ben said. "One more thing: my phone number is 027-RAT-TATA."  
Leaf gave him her number and said, "One other thing: where did you find that purple snake?"  
Ben said, "On the other side of Mt. Moon. I think it's cool that you're on the lookout for new Pokémon."  
Indeed, she was.

While waiting for her Pokémon to heal overnight, Leaf evaluated her Pokédex with Professor Oak a second time. The first time, back in Viridian City, she had encountered only 9 Pokémon and captured 7, and Professor Oak had told her, "You still have lots to do. Look for Pokémon in grassy areas!" That was as Pidgey first entered into her lineup, with Rattata being stored in his place.  
This time, she had made some improvement. She logged on to Professor Oak's PC and hooked up her Pokédex via cable. Professor Oak, on the other side, responded as soon as he realized Leaf was calling him again.  
"Good to see you, Leaf!" said he. "How's your Pokédex coming? Has it improved any since I last checked?"  
"Well, I caught and evolved some bugs," Leaf replied as she forwarded her present Pokédex findings to the Professor.  
This time, she had encountered 18 Pokémon and caught 12. "You're on the right track!" Professor Oak exclaimed. "As soon as you can, go to my aide on the eastern side of Route 2, where he will give you a Flash HM. Good luck!"  
Leaf logged off.

"Are you a trainer? Let's fight!"  
These words, spoken by yet another bug catcher, snapped Leaf back to the present. "Are there any Pokémon of interest to you in these parts?"  
"There are wild Pokémon here," said the bug catcher, named Greg, "but nothing of interest to bug catchers like me. Anyway, let's go at it! I choose you, Weedle!"  
Leaf scoffed and said, "Your Weedle is no match for Fury Attack! I choose you, J. Roger!"  
Beedrill knew what to do. He went at his enemy with his stingers, landing multiple blows at a time and not letting himself be fazed by Weedle's Poison Sting. Within a few turns, Weedle fainted. Greg was forced to summon Kakuna in his place. "J. Roger, return!" Leaf shouted. "I choose you, Butterfree!"  
Butterfree proved to be more calculated than Beedrill, dropping Kakuna with a single Confusion. Leaf put Spearow in Butterfree's place as Greg recalled Kakuna and summoned Caterpie. "All right, let's get 'em-suzu!" Spearow shouted.  
Spearow managed to drop Caterpie with a single Peck, but he had a slightly harder time against the Metapod Greg then summoned. As he was a primarily defensive Pokémon, knowing only Harden when caught, Spearow was able to drop Metapod without sustaining any damage. "Now that's what I call a good time-suzu!" he exclaimed.  
Greg begrudgingly handed over the prize money, saying, "If I had a new Pokémon, I would've won! Now that I think about it, I think it'd be a good idea to expand my horizons. Unfortunately, it's not time for our lunch break yet."  
Leaf said, "I didn't know battling was considered a job."  
"Believe it or not, it is," Greg said. "Some of us still have our school uniforms, such as that oddball from Pokémon Tech."  
Leaf went over the ledge to face the trainer Greg had indicated, but she tripped in the process. "That's never happened before," Leaf said. "Is there a slob in this hall of trainers?"  
"Hey! You're not wearing shorts!" a youngster just behind her exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?"  
"I should be asking you the same thing," Leaf groaned, more irritated than embarrassed about the youngster looking up her dress after she had tripped. "Didn't they teach you in Pokémon Tech that it's rude to look up girls' skirts?"  
"Sorry about that," the youngster said. "Name's Calvin."  
"No wonder," Leaf said. "You must've been the class clown."  
Calvin summoned his Spearow. "It's a tough one," said he. "I hope you've trained your Pikachu."  
"I can handle a Flying-type as if it were a low level-pika!" Pikachu exclaimed. "Bring it on-pika!"  
Spearow struck Pikachu with its beak. "PI-KAHAHAHAHA! That tickles-pika!"  
Calvin spoke for his Spearow, saying, "You strategize well, it seems."  
"Better believe it-pika! Pi-ka-CHUUUUUUUUUU!"  
Within seconds, Calvin's Spearow was fried. "Lost! Lost! Lost!" he shouted repeatedly.  
"Calm down, Calvin!" Leaf said.  
As he forked over the prize money, Calvin said, "You know my type fairly well. I always wear shorts, even in winter."  
"I can see that," Leaf said. "You're not wearing the standard Pokémon Tech uniform. Apart from you, I've never seen a student or graduate wear shorts with his uniform."  
"Oh, I can help you get back up there," Calvin said.  
Leaf shook her head and said, "You probably couldn't help your Spearow get past a Caterpie!"  
"I was on the Pokémon Tech cheerleading squad."  
"Say WHAT!?"  
Calvin said, "Cheerleading's not just for girls, you know. Best part about it is, I still got to wear shorts as part of my cheerleading uniform. All the boys on the squad did, of course. Now, just step on my hands."  
Leaf was confused. "It's something I learned as part of the squad!" Calvin shouted.  
"If you insist," Leaf said. On three, Calvin threw her so high she went over the ledge to their north. "Good throw, Cal!" Greg shouted. "I knew you still had it in you!"  
Leaf's next fight was with someone in the usual youngster costume: baseball cap, T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. The baseball cap was positioned to hide the youth's eyes.  
"Excuse me, sir..." Leaf began before the youth looked up and at her. What Leaf saw surprised her. "That's not a boy's face!" she exclaimed.  
"That look you gave me," the youth said before removing her baseball cap. "It's so intriguing!"  
The lass wore her hair in a ponytail, and she had a rather posh-sounding accent. "I was just surprised," Leaf said. "I've never seen a lass dressed as a youngster before. What school did you go to?"  
The lass said, "I see you've met my friend Cherry. She and Iris and I went to school together."  
"Who's Iris?" Leaf asked.  
"A Sailor Moon fangirl, by the looks of it," the lass replied. "That's actually one of my favourites, too. The name's Sally, by the way."  
"I'm Leaf. I was told Cerulean City was east of here."  
"You'll have to get past me first," Sally said. "Oh, by the way, I hung out a lot with the boys at Pewter Public. They taught me how to battle, and Edison told me Rattater is a good Pokémon to use if you want a quick and easy victory. When I verified it with another youngster friend of mine, you know what he said? 'Thou'll thrash thine opponents with ease if thou uses a Rattater and trains it properly.' Cherry's boyfriend Liam also recommended to us that we use Nidoran in combat. I prefer the males myself."  
Leaf said, "It would seem you had an old-fashioned schoolmate."  
"He was a transfer student from somewhere north of Kalos, on the other side of the globe," Sally said. All of a sudden, she looked at her watch. "Oh bloody hell, we're wasting our time. Lunch is only five minutes from now, so let's make it quick! Go, Rattater!"  
"I choose you, Ana!" Leaf shouted.  
"Here we go-pippi!" Clefairy shouted as she ran towards Sally's Rattata. No sooner did Rattata see her coming than he struck her with Quick Attack. "You OK, Ana?" Leaf asked.  
"Yeah-pippi," Clefairy said. "I'm just gonna have to slow him down."  
She then curtsied and started singing. As soon as she stopped, Leaf and Sally uncovered their ears. "Remember, Ana," Leaf said, "just focus on the rat."  
Clefairy nodded before puffing up and pounding Rattata. The Rattata woke up and hit her again, but she was able to drop him with her next pound.  
"Right, let's see how well your Clefairy fares against my Nidoran!" Sally shouted as she recalled her Rattata and summoned her Nidoran(M). Clefairy used the same strategy against him, but his Horn Attacks proved to be too much for her. Thankfully, Leaf was able to realize it before it was too late and recalled Clefairy when it became obvious that one more Horn Attack could do it. "Good work, Ana! Return!" said she.  
"About time-pippi," Clefairy groaned. "That horn of his really did a number on me-pippi."  
"I'll let my own Rattata finish the job! Do it, Blitzen!"  
Rattata came out of his Poké Ball. "What do you want me to do this time-ratta?"  
"Quick Attack!" Leaf shouted. "Do unto the other guy before he does unto you!"  
It was over in three turns. "Be nice!" Sally pouted as she handed over the prize money. "Oh, there's one more after me, and he doesn't look like he's taking this seriously."  
"So I heard," Leaf said. "Did you see him leave a banana peel on that ledge?"  
"I know, right? He's a real slob!" Sally said. "But he'll always battle anyone who comes by looking for a battle."  
"Like me, I suppose," Leaf said as she proceeded to the south.  
"You can fight my new Pokémon," said the bug catcher, named James. "Oh, and I'm real sorry about the mess."  
Leaf rolled her eyes and said, "I knew it... there's a slacker in these ranks."  
"Don't act like you're my supervisor all of a sudden!" James exclaimed. "Go, Caterpie!"  
"I hope your supervisor doesn't have a Spearow on his person," Leaf said. "I choose you, Terminator!"  
"Fresh meat-suzu!" Spearow snarled.  
"That's my Terminator, bloodthirsty as always," Leaf said. "Peck!"  
Spearow dropped Caterpie in one hit, and he performed as Leaf expected against the Metapod, only he did a bit better this time around due to his having leveled up against the last Metapod he had fought.  
"Done like dinner!" James groaned as he handed over the prize money. The supervisor appeared and summoned his Pidgey, which cooed to signal the start of the trainers' lunch break. "Just in time," James said.

"Your supervisor may be intimidating," Leaf said, "but he was nice enough to let me eat lunch with you guys."  
"Call him Mr. Marcos," Sally said. "Under normal circumstances, you can avoid trainer battles by not letting the trainers see you."  
Calvin said, "We have a different supervisor each day. Mr. Marcos fills the role on Mondays; Mr. Flint on Tuesdays; Mr. Maynard on Wednesdays; Miss Joy on Thursdays; Mr. Trent on Fridays; and Mr. Carlos on Saturdays. Sunday's our day off."  
"Doesn't Miss Joy have to be at the Pokémon Center?" Leaf asked.  
Calvin said, "Her cousin does healing duties on Thursdays."  
"I suppose Ben already told you about the Boxes of the Pokémon Storage System," Greg said. "Well, I myself have some advice concerning that."  
"Tell me about it," Leaf said.  
"If a Box on the PC should get full," Greg said, "just switch to another Box."  
Ben said, "All the Ekans are east of Mt. Moon, I'm sorry to say. I did see some Mankey and Jigglypuff around here, though."  
James, the young bug catcher, said, "Trained Pokémon, of course, are stronger than those you fight in the wild."

After the lunch break ended, Leaf captured a Mankey with one of the Poké Balls she had purchased at the Pewter Poké Mart before the Pokémon Center's curfew had started the previous night. She had made it back just in time, right as the metal door fell in front of the entrance. The Mankey already knew Low Kick, so she resolved to train it as soon as she came across one of the Geodude she had heard about from an unfortunate picnicker who had tripped on one of them. Luckily, she happened to be a Bulbasaur Scout, which gave her an affinity for Grass-types and, therefore, a double advantage over the Geodude.  
The next Pokémon she caught was a Jigglypuff, which Pikachu paralyzed with Thunder Wave, a non-damaging move which induced instant paralysis if it hit its target. Pikachu lowered its hit points with Quick Attack before Leaf threw her Poké Ball. Leaf then benched her Rattata, which had learned Hyper Fang while in the tall grass of Route 3, to make room for Jigglypuff. She then proceeded to train it for several minutes, until it had learned Pound.  
Sometimes, Leaf would let Jigglypuff out of his Poké Ball so that Clefairy could show him how to do a mean pound, and also teach him human language. She continued to train him for some more time (and he managed to learn about 30 words apart from his own name) before her curiosity regarding the strange man near the PC got the better of her.  
"Hello, there!" he shouted. "Have I got a deal just for you! I'll let you have a swell Magikarp for just 500 Poké Dollars! What do you say?"  
Leaf agreed to the deal. Before she could nickname her Magikarp, the gold-coated Poké Ball in which it was contained disappeared. "Well, I don't give refunds!" said he.  
"I don't need a refund," Leaf said. "I know exactly where it went."  
Leaf walked over to the PC and benched Jigglypuff in favor of Magikarp. As soon as she walked into Mt. Moon, however, she was in for a nasty surprise.  
Magikarp was useless.


	6. Magikarp Jutsu

"Hello, there!" shouted the Magikarp salesman. "Have I got a deal just for you! I'll let you have a swell Magikarp for just 500 Poké Dollars! What do you say?"  
Leaf agreed to the deal. Before she could nickname her Magikarp, the gold-coated Poké Ball in which it was contained disappeared. "Well, I don't give refunds!" said he.  
"I don't need a refund," Leaf said. "I know exactly where it went."  
Leaf walked over to the PC and benched Jigglypuff in favor of Magikarp. As soon as she walked into Mt. Moon, however, she was in for a nasty surprise.  
Magikarp was useless.

In fact, it was immediately after she walked into the cave. A lone Zubat attacked her. She summoned Magikarp to deal with the threat, but it just couldn't do anything except jump around. "Blast it all!" she grunted through clenched teeth. "ZAP IT INTO OBLIVION, LITA!"  
"I ain't afraid of no Zubat-pika, and I certainly ain't afraid of you-pika!" Pikachu shouted as her cheeks turned a bright gold. "Pi-ka-CHUUUUUUUUUU!"  
The Zubat fell instantly. Leaf reached into her bag and pulled out TM34. Booting it up, she tried to teach it to Magikarp, but he rejected the TM. "You can't even learn a simple TM!?" Leaf shouted. "I can't believe it! That weirdo ripped me off!"  
Leaf tossed the Magikarp's Poké Ball in frustration...  
...only for Brock to catch it. "You really need to learn some patience," said he.  
Leaf recognized the voice as soon as she heard it. "Brock? What are you doing here? Don't you have a gym to run?"  
"I also have a hobby," Brock said. "I got it from my old man."  
"What exactly is this hobby?" Leaf asked.  
"Digging for fossils," Brock said. "When I'm on these digs, my younger brother Forrest runs the gym in my place. In any case, I wouldn't exactly consider a Pokémon that can only hop around a waste of 500 Poké Dollars."  
"You heard about the Magikarp salesman, too?"  
"Yeah," Brock said as he gave the gold-coated Poké Ball back to Leaf. "You train Magikarp diligently enough, soon you'll have a powerful Pokémon on your hands."  
"That's the problem," Leaf said. "I can't get it to fight!"  
"I'm sure one of the signs in Pewter City may have already told you," Brock said, "but no matter how little the participation is, any Pokémon that participates in any battle and doesn't faint gains an equal portion of the experience. In my opinion, you're off to a good start."  
"How do you know?" Leaf asked.  
"There's a story my dad used to tell me," Brock said. "It's called The Murkrow and the Pitcher.  
"So a Murkrow is dying of thirst during a drought in this neck of the woods. To its delight, it comes across a pitcher with some water in it. Unfortunately, the water level is too low for the Murkrow to be able to drink a single drop from it. Fortunately, Murkrow is a very crafty creature. So what does it do?"  
Leaf said, "Knock it onto its side, perhaps."  
"No, not quite," Brock said. "The Murkrow looks around and discovers some loose pebbles lying around. One by one, it drops each pebble into the pitcher, until the water level rises high enough that the Murkrow can quench its thirst. And you know what the moral of the story is?"  
Leaf said, "I'm sure it has something to do with rocks."  
"Actually, it only has something to do with rocks if rocks are involved in the story," Brock said. "The moral actually has more to do with brains than anything. Specifically: little by little does the trick."  
Leaf said, "That's an interesting story."  
"Good luck," Brock said. "I'll be somewhere on this level digging with a friend of mine if you need me."  
"Thanks," Leaf said.

With the help of Pikachu, her newly-acquired Mankey, and some other Pokémon, Leaf was able to strengthen Magikarp up to Lv. 11, and also catch some new Pokémon (specifically, a Zubat, a Geodude, and a Sandshrew), before it came time for the Pokémon Center's curfew. Leaf entered just as the metal door outside fell in front of the entrance. She made a mad dash for the Pokémon Center as soon as it started to close up. Along the way, she accidentally dropped a Poké Ball, but she was able to snatch it just before the door was fully in the "closed" position. She then put it back in her bag.  
"The usual metal door and curfew aren't the only security measures in place at this Pokémon Center," Nurse Joy said. "There's also a thick concrete sliding door which I personally crank shut with a huge wheel."  
As Nurse Joy turned the wheel in a clockwise direction, she continued, "Trained Pokémon are also used to combat any Molotov cocktails the Rockets may throw our way. The Center itself is a bunker designed by Americans at the request of the then-newly-formed Ministry of Pokémon during the post-War period. This country may have renounced war, but it definitely hasn't renounced defense, and with violent disturbances perpetrated by the Rockets increasing, defense is a top priority in these parts."  
"You must be really strong," Leaf said.  
"Indeed," Nurse Joy said. "I have a cousin on my mother's side, Lt. Mathias Surge. He's a Gulf War veteran who relocated here after the war to become a gym leader. Anyway, all Pokémon are healed in lower levels of this particular establishment, and the most vital businesses housed here are also underground."  
"Tell me about the Rockets," Leaf said.  
"A long time ago, our country was in an alliance with two Fascist nations in Europe, both east of Kalos. Like the pirates under the Tudors, Team Rocket was once under the service of the old Empire. You could say the Rockets were our country's version of the Stormtroopers. However, after the war, the Rockets, like practically our entire armed forces, found themselves unemployed. They soon became an Imperialist, pro-Fascist terrorist organization with strong ties to some 'really nice folks' with four fingers. They have branches here and in Johto, as far as I'm aware.  
"This Pokémon Center was the first to be built after the war ended. Around this time, the Rockets were learning some new tricks from Finnish expatriates who had fled in fear of the Commies taking over their territory. Even today, there are Finnish members of Team Rocket who are masters of the Molotov cocktail, so that's all the more reason for the added layers of security compared to older Pokémon Centers such as in Viridian and Pewter. This is the lobby of the Mt. Moon Pokémon Center. There are separate service elevators for nurses, Cable Club receptionists, and restaurant owners. Regular customers can use the express elevator over there.  
"The first basement is where Pokémon are healed. A PC is stationed directly below the one on the lobby. Route 3's hall of trainers, which I supervise on Thursdays, have lunch breaks one floor below. The third basement is their lodgings. The fourth basement is reserved for fossil storage. The fifth basement is where our Cable Club is. As with other Pokémon Centers, the Cable Club has lodgings for guests who end up sleeping in the Center."  
The Magikarp salesman walked up to Leaf. "I only sell Magikarp to those who have what it takes to be a top trainer," said he. "The name's Carlos, by the way. I operate the Gyarados Firefighting Squadron, or GFS for short. What I don't tell trainers is that a Magikarp, if diligently raised, evolves into Gyarados, which is far more powerful than most trainers can afford with their hard-earned cash. I also supervise the Route 3 hall of trainers on Saturdays."  
Leaf was amazed that the Magikarp salesman was less shallow than he had initially appeared. "I don't give refunds for the Magikarp I sell," said he, "because I trust that the trainer will learn by instinct how to raise one. Once a Magikarp evolves, it has the capacity to learn how to spray a powerful enough blast of water to put out a fire started by the Molotov cocktails those ruffians throw. I hear they're trying to steal fossils to exploit them."  
Nurse Joy said, "Technically, all fossil digs here are unauthorized, but there's a legal difference between just digging for fossils and breaking the law."  
"Tell me about it," Leaf said.  
"Title 39, Section 12," Nurse Joy said. "Paragraph I: The theft of Pokémon fossils is illegal. Paragraph II: Fossil theft is defined as an act that consists of: (A) the removal of fossils from whence they are discovered and (B) the violation of any law, the nature of the violation which: (i) endangers human or Pokémon life; (ii) involves any act or threat of violence towards a human or a Pokémon; and (iii) involves any illegal tools, including explosives, particularly those which may cause (i) and/or (ii) to occur. Paragraph III: Whoever discovers multiple fossils may opt to share them with other parties, or else challenge them to a Pokémon battle if (s)he feels they might commit fossil theft. Paragraph IV: Whoever finds any fossil may challenge any person suspected of fossil theft to a Pokémon battle, especially if they feel the suspected party might target them."  
"So basically," Leaf said, "digging for fossils without authorization is not in and of itself illegal, but fossil theft is."  
"The law is designed to protect ordinary citizens who are digging for fossils around these parts, as well as the fossils themselves," Nurse Joy said. "This and the Cerulean Pokémon Center have fossil deposits for those who find fossils in Mt. Moon. Those who find the fossils are required by law to deposit the fossils as soon as they can, in part to protect them from unscrupulous individuals such as the Rockets who may seek to exploit them. Upon request, they can then have the fossils shipped to a licensed facility with the technology with which to revive them. The delivery of Old Amber must also be performed by the same person from the point it is received from the sender to the licensed facility; as such, it is recommended that only those capable of making such a delivery from start to finish be allowed to make the delivery."  
"Can I continue to train my Magikarp in here, even after the curfew takes effect?" Leaf asked.  
"Yes," Nurse Joy said. "The Cable Club here is open to all trainers 24/7."  
Leaf immediately boarded the express elevator and went down to the second basement to have some dinner before continuing down to the fifth basement to continue training her Magikarp.  
Red was there, having trained his own Magikarp almost to Lv. 14. "I suppose you finally figured out what Carlos expected of you?"  
"Yeah," Leaf said. "Mine's at Lv. 11 now."  
"I've currently got mine at Lv. 14," Red said. "Come on, let's get training!"  
The two young trainers entered into the Cable Club to battle. It would be the first battle between the two of them. The receptionist told them the rules.  
"Only the Pokémon you currently have are admitted," said she. "No running, no use of illegal moves, and no exchanging of prize money. Other than that, have fun!"  
Red started by summoning his Charmander. Leaf summoned Geodude. "Big mistake," Red said. "I still remember what you told me."  
Geodude managed to hit Charmander a couple of times before being weakened with just two Embers. Luckily, Leaf had some Potions on her and healed Geodude herself when his health got too low. Leaf swapped out her Geodude for Sandshrew when Red summoned his own Pikachu. Sandshrew dropped Pikachu with several Scratches after immobilizing him with just a few uses of Sand-Attack. Leaf's next opponent was a Rattata, for which Leaf summoned her Mankey. Just a couple of Low Kicks was all it took. Red summoned Spearow after that, and Leaf countered with her Pikachu. She fried Spearow with just a couple of ThunderShocks. The next fight was Nidoran(M) vs. Zubat. Leaf's Zubat did quite a bit of damage with Leech Life while keeping himself healthy. In between all that, they summoned and recalled their Magikarp five times.  
Finally, it was the main event: Magikarp vs. Magikarp.  
Both used Splash until they were unable to, and the two Magikarp then used Struggle until Leaf's was at the point of fainting. Leaf recalled him just in time. "Finish him, Lita!" she shouted.  
"Sorry, but I've got my own Magikarp to take care of-pika," Pikachu said. "Please understand that I hold you in the highest regard-pika. Pi-ka-CHUUUUUU!"  
Leaf 6, Red 0. The Bulbasaur Scout who had tripped over the Geodude earlier took Red's place and said, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."  
Leaf looked at her funny. The Scout then laughed and said, "Just kidding. My name's Robin."  
"Yeah, and I'm Mandy," Leaf said, rolling her eyes.  
"No, really!" Robin said. "I specialize in Grass-types. I have a few of them."  
The receptionist said, "Some of your Pokémon will have to wait outside. Each combatant must use the same number of Pokémon as each other."  
Leaf removed two of her Poké Balls and placed them in the metal cage on her side of the field. "Sorry, Ana," she said, "but you're going to have to sit this one out."  
Clefairy left the playing field. "I was so looking forward to pounding that fangirl's Pokémon-pippi," she grumbled.  
The first match was between Oddish and Zubat. "Bloodsucker vs. bloodsucker... this should be interesting!" Robin shouted.  
Zubat went at Oddish with Leech Life, and vice versa with Absorb. Zubat won easily. Pikachu went in against Bellsprout. For once, she refrained from using Electric-type attacks, save to paralyze her opponent with a single Thunder Wave. After that, she only used Quick Attack. "I too read my mistress's handbook-pika," Pikachu said.  
"Everyone knows a good Bulbasaur Scout, if she has a Bulbasaur on her, saves hers for last," Robin said.  
Leaf gasped. "You're the one who picked Bulbasaur?"  
"Yep," Robin said. "I too come from Pallet Town."  
To safeguard against Leech Seed, Leaf summoned Zubat once again. Sure enough, Bulbasaur did use Leech Seed, but Zubat was able to recoup its losses with Leech Life, which was doubly effective against dual-types with Bulbasaur's types. "Inconceivable!" Robin exclaimed.  
Leaf 3, Robin 0. "OK, I'm feeling tired," Leaf said. "I guess that's it for me for tonight."  
Again, she had summoned and recalled Magikarp before each battle. Once the battle was over, she picked up her Poké Balls and removed Clefairy from the waiting area before leaving the Cable Club arena. She set up her sleeping bag, removed her ballet flats, and turned in for the night, having raised her Magikarp one level further.

The next morning, Leaf healed her Pokémon and returned to Mt. Moon, staying in the southwestern part of it. She spent about an hour or so training her Magikarp before he reached Lv. 15 and finally learned an offensive move, which she had him demonstrate against the next wild Pokémon to appear: a Zubat.  
"Well, at least it's something," Leaf said as Zubat felt itself getting slightly weaker with each Tackle. Magikarp managed to push Zubat halfway towards fainting before finding himself on the verge. "Not bad for a first offensive strike," Leaf said. "I'll let Lita finish this one."  
"With pleasure-pika!" Pikachu said. "Pi-ka-CHUUUUUUU!"  
Once again, the Zubat dropped instantly.

"You can see my Magikarp has sustained its first battle scars," Leaf said upon bringing her Pokémon to be healed after raising her Magikarp one level further.  
"More like battle bite marks, by the looks of it," Nurse Joy said. "It would appear his battle was against a Zubat. You look pretty weak yourself. Why don't you get some breakfast downstairs?"  
"Good idea," Leaf said. "It'll give me something to do while waiting for my Pokémon to be healed."  
Leaf took the elevator to the second basement for some waffles.

Less than an hour later, she was back. This time, she noticed an object resembling that which Brock had given her a couple of days before. She picked it up. Upon booting it up, she saw the number 12. The technical machine scanned Leaf's Pokémon for eligibility to learn the attack contained within. Leaf ultimately decided to teach it to Clefairy, who tested it out against a Geodude which soon jumped her. As Leaf had first summoned Magikarp for an experience boost, Magikarp finally reached Lv. 19. It had been three hours since she had eaten her breakfast and picked up her Pokémon from Nurse Joy.  
Just one hour later, Magikarp was ready for the final test, one which would precipitate his evolution, according to Carlos. "Keep sending it out for one hour more," said he, "and he's sure to evolve. I knew you could get this far!"  
His opponent was a Zubat which knew how to confuse its opponents with supersonic sound waves. Magikarp resisted the waves as much as he could as he kept tackling on Leaf's orders ("You know what to do."), even withstanding the one time he did get confused to attack the Zubat instead of himself. This particular Zubat, luckily for him, was dumb and in the bottom percentage of Zubat, using its sound waves as its primary weapon even after confusing its target, hoping the target would hurt himself in his confusion.  
Magikarp was not one of them. As Carlos watched from the safety of the cave's exterior, he kept right on tackling Zubat. Within seconds of totally throwing off his confusion, he dropped the Zubat and finally evolved into a Pokémon more powerful than he once was.  
He was no longer the weak and humble Magikarp. He was Gyarados.  
"HAHA! I just knew you could do it!" Carlos shouted as he gave her a thumbs up.  
Leaf hugged her newly-evolved Gyarados and said, "Well done."


	7. Rocket Power

Having finally trained her Magikarp enough for it to become something more, Leaf decided to proceed through Mt. Moon. She knew how dangerous it was, and yet she knew she had to get to the other side to reach Cerulean City. At the Pokémon Center, she set a new definitive lineup for her travel: Clefairy, Pikachu, Gyarados, Spearow, Mankey, and Pidgey.  
As soon as she entered, a young man dressed like a bosozoku in black sped past on a motorcycle and nearly knocked her out with a metal pipe. "Blast it all!" she groaned. "Looks like tonight is going to be pretty dangerous."  
"Hey, you!" another girl shouted. "Stop, thief! How dare you steal fossils from here!? I'm the leader of the Magical Girls on Mt. Moon, and in the name of the Moon–!"  
Leaf had run up to her and was looking at her funny. "What? I'm waiting for my friends to find me here," the girl lied. "I heard there are some very rare fossils here."  
"Apparently, Team Rocket did, too," Leaf said.  
"OK, I'll come clean!" the girl, dressed in a white tunic with a blue sailor collar and skirt, said. "I'm a vigilante dedicated to hunting the Rockets. And that one just escaped my grasp, no thanks to you!"  
Leaf said, "Sorry about that. Are you by any chance Iris?"  
"Yeah," the girl said. "My friends and I derive our style from my favorite television program. Now, then, let's battle!"  
Iris performed several quick pirouettes in succession as she summoned her Clefairy. Leaf attempted the same thing when summoning hers but just fell flat on her face after just one or two pirouettes. "Clearly you're more graceful than I am," Leaf said. "Plus, Calvin would be very proud of you."  
"I know," Iris said. "I was his teammate on the Pokémon Tech cheerleading squad. Why do you think I wear bike shorts?"  
"To impress your boyfriend?"  
"Well, it's not like he's my Tuxedo Mask or anything," Iris said, "but anyway, we waste time by talking! Did you hear that powerful Molotov cocktail that Rocket just blew up near here? He's started digging!"  
"Must be a powerful Molotov cocktail," Leaf said, "if he's using it to dig deep into the depths of the cave."  
The two Clefairy stared at each other for a minute or two. Then, they curtsied to each other and started singing. Both Leaf and Iris covered their ears, but both Clefairy soon fell asleep mid-song. Leaf gave hers some Awakening so she could assault the other as soon as she possibly could. The other Clefairy was knocked out just as she woke up.  
"Quite clear there's magic in a Pokémon song," Iris said, "but is your magic stronger than mine? Clefairy, return! Go, Jigglypuff!"  
With these words, she did her usual summoning ritual. "I'm staying in-pippi," Clefairy said. "I don't want you to twist your ankle-pippi."  
"I'm happy to see you're concerned, Ana," Leaf said. "Now, sing at her!"  
Clefairy curtsied and started singing before Jigglypuff could even open her own mouth. "Water Gun this time," Leaf said. "As you can see, Iris, my magic is indeed stronger than yours. Watch."  
Clefairy summoned water from out of nowhere and threw it at the sleeping Jigglypuff. She kept right on doing so until Jigglypuff woke up. She started to sing, but Clefairy covered her ears and dropped her with yet another Water Gun.  
"Now that is real magic!" Iris exclaimed as she handed over the prize money. "I should teach that trick to my own Clefairy sometime!"  
At that moment, Leaf remembered that there was at least one other trainer she had seen in the cave while training her Magikarp. His name was Kent, and he was a bug catcher. As it turned out, he too was on the lookout for Team Rocket. "Suspicious men are in the cave," said he. "What about you?"  
Spearow popped out of his Poké Ball upon hearing that. "I'll peck some sense into him and his Pokémon-suzu!" he shouted indignantly. "That'll teach him to not judge a book by its cover-suzu!"  
"I'm gonna poison anyone suspicious!" Kent exclaimed. "Just you watch! Go! Weedle!"  
Spearow called his own shots. "Let me at 'em, I'll splat 'em-suzu!" he crowed before pecking at Weedle. A single peck significantly weakened his enemy, but Weedle jabbed him in the rear end with his stinger. Fortunately, Spearow showed no ill effects this time around. "No fair poking my butt-suzu!" he roared as he dropped Weedle with just two consecutive applications of Fury Attack.  
"Try getting past my Kakuna!" Kent said as he recalled Weedle and summoned Kakuna in his place. It took three pecks to drop Kakuna, as all he knew how to do was Harden.  
"You got me," Kent said as he handed over the prize money. "You sure you're not one of them?"  
"Of course not," Leaf said. "I don't have any metal pipes or Molotov cocktails on my person, after all."  
"I saw one just now," Kent said. "I'm sure he's from Team Rocket!"  
"Don't you worry," Leaf said. "I'll find him and deal with him the way I know how."  
"How shall you do it?" Kent asked.  
"One word," Leaf said. "Strategy."  
As she departed, Leaf found a Potion lying around. She picked it up before continuing on her way.  
Just then, a Zubat attacked her. As always, Pikachu stepped up to defend her. "You ain't sucking my blood-pika!" she shouted. "Pi-ka-CHUUUUUUUU!"  
The Zubat fell. Just then, another Zubat appeared. Pikachu zapped that one, too. A couple more Zubat appeared in quick succession, and Pikachu, exhausted but still eager for a fight, dropped both of them. "Arceus-damned Zubat," she groaned in disgust. "Why won't they leave us alone-pika?"  
"This is Zubat territory, it seems," Leaf said, stopping near a sign. "BEWARE! ZUBAT IS A BLOODSUCKER!" was printed in large, red letters.  
They were only able to proceed a few more steps before Leaf tripped over a Geodude. Pikachu kept her from skinning her knees in the fall, and Clefairy stepped up to face him just as Gyarados randomly popped out of his Poké Ball. He glared at her as she used Water Gun once to send Geodude to his proverbial knees.  
"I know, it'll take a while-pippi," she said after finishing off the Geodude. "Still, you've got to be patient-pippi. Leaf dedicated a lot of time to raising you from a complete nobody-pippi. The least you could do is be grateful to her for being patient enough to get you to this point-pippi."  
"Besides," Leaf said, "it'll take twice the amount of effort I put into raising you from Magikarp to get you to the point where you can rust these rock monsters."  
She recalled Gyarados and continued northbound, where she discovered a motorcycle and a hole in the ground. "Could that have been where that Rocket went?" she asked.  
Taking a deep breath, she climbed down the ladder. Clefairy and Pikachu hopped down into the hole after her.

"I just love the smell of fried Zubat in the evening-pika," Pikachu remarked after zapping another Zubat upon touching down. "It smells like victory-pika!"  
"Don't breathe easy," Leaf said. "As that sign implied, this is Zubat territory. Lita, stay on alert."  
They were able to take just a few more steps before another Zubat ambushed them. Pikachu took care of the attacker easily. However, her ThunderShock made enough noise that two more appeared. "Cut off one head," Pikachu groaned, "and two more shall take its place-pika."  
She fried both of them in quick succession before tripping over another Geodude. The enraged rock monster tackled Clefairy, who finished him off with Water Gun. One of his brethren retaliated, but Clefairy put him down just as easily.  
Just then, yet another Zubat appeared as they were rounding the corner. "You again-pika," Pikachu groaned. "I have had it with you Mankey-fighting Zubat in this Monday-to-Friday cave-pika! Pi-ka-CHUUUU!"  
As the Zubat dropped, Leaf saw some smoke rising out of the hole on the other end of the corridor. "Whoever went down there," said she, "blew up another Molotov cocktail."  
"Where there's smoke, there's fire-pippi," Clefairy said. "I'm really scared-pippi!"  
"Don't be-pika!" Pikachu snapped. "You do know Water Gun, don't you-pika?"  
Clefairy said, "Thanks for reminding me-pippi."  
Slowly and cautiously, Leaf approached the hole. "You go first, Ana," said she. "You're the one who knows Water Gun."  
Clefairy climbed down, step by step, and saw a Molotov cocktail-induced fire. She put it out, revealing a fresh new hole in the wall. "All clear-pippi!" she shouted.  
Pikachu climbed down next, with Leaf following.  
It was then she saw the man who had tried to clobber her earlier. "YOU!" she shouted, pointing her finger at the man in black. "Who are you!?"  
The man just chuckled and said, "Fine way to say hello, young lady. We, Team Rocket, are Pokémon gangsters. We strike fear with our strength!"  
When he summoned his first Pokémon, a Sandshrew, Leaf laughed, saying, "Ana can put him down pretty easily!"  
"Laughter hides fear," the Rocket grunt said, shaking his head. "Sand-Attack!"  
Sandshrew was able to kick some sand into Clefairy's face, but she was still able to drop him with Water Gun within just two turns. "I should have listened to you," the Rocket grunt said. "Luckily for me, I don't have any other Pokémon weak to your waterbending! Go, Rattata!"  
"Ana, return!" Leaf commanded. "I'll let Captain take care of this one."  
She summoned her Mankey. "Low Kick!" she shouted. The Rocket grunt's Rattata didn't stand a chance.  
"It's of no consequence," he said as he recalled his Rattata. "I still have one Pokémon left, and he's doubly resistant to your little kick attack!"  
Seeing the Zubat, Pikachu said, "OK, Captain, let me handle this one-pika! Pi-ka-CHUUUUUUU!"  
The Zubat fell. "I blew it... I BLEW IT!" the Rocket grunt yelled in despair as he sank to his knees.  
"That'll show you-pika!" Pikachu exclaimed triumphantly.  
"Darn it all!" the Rocket grunt groaned as he handed over the prize money. "My associates will not stand for this!"  
He couldn't help but chuckle as Leaf tripped over a Geodude. Clefairy promptly took care of the stray rock monster before a Zubat swooped down. Pikachu floored it with a single ThunderShock.  
Leaf discovered a stray can of vitamins lying around. It was an HP Up. Leaf picked it up before returning the way she had come, past the stunned Rocket.  
She would soon discover some nasty surprises.

First, a whole pack of Zubat was waiting for her as she climbed back up. Luckily, Pikachu sensed it and scurried up the ladder quickly, jumping off her head and frying the whole lot of them with a single ThunderShock.  
Next, her cell phone rang. She took the call. It was Edison. "I'm surprised the reception is even decent at these depths," said she. "What's up?"  
"My cousin Joey is going to be jealous!" Edison said. "Turns out, my Rattata's different than the average Rattata. It's like my Rattata's in the top percentage of Rattata, even! Oh, how are you doing?"  
"I just took out a Rocket Grunt in Mt. Moon," Leaf said, "but there may be more to come."  
"As for me," Edison said, "I'm checking out my Rattata's moves and devising some cool new strategies. When I come up with a good one, let's battle!"  
"Any time," Leaf said.  
"All right," Edison said. "Later!"  
He hung up. Leaf put her cell phone back on her waist as she continued down the hall. A Geodude nearly tripped her up as she rounded the corner (Clefairy took care of him), but a Zubat attacked her. "You again-pika," Pikachu groaned. "You will never learn, will you-pika? Pi-ka-CHUUU!"  
The Zubat dropped upon electrocution. Fortunately, the coast was clear as Leaf climbed up.  
As soon as she surfaced, Leaf ran past a sleeping Iris, dealing with a few more Zubat, Geodude, and Sandshrew along the way before setting up her sleeping bag and summoning Gyarados. "A watchman never sleeps," said she. "You and Lita take turns protecting me, OK?"  
Gyarados nodded. Leaf petted him before removing her ballet flats and hitting the hay.  
Seeing the Pokémon guarding her, the Zubat and Geodude didn't dare disturb her.  
Or so she thought.

The next morning, Leaf received a rude, electric awakening. One hundred thousand volts of pure electricity shot through her system and hit her so hard she shot right out of her sleeping bag, and it also set her hair on fire. "What on Earth was that about!?" she shouted as Clefairy put out the fire. "Do you realize you could've killed me!?"  
"Sorry-pika," Pikachu said in embarrassment. "I just wanted to try out this new technique I learned while fighting the Zubat that played dirty-pika."  
"I see. Congratulations on becoming stronger, Lita," Leaf said. "How did you do last night, Gyarados?"  
Gyarados breathed fire at her, but he missed. Clefairy put it out. "Good work," Leaf said. "Gyarados, return!"  
She recalled Gyarados and returned to the Pokémon Center, which was just reopening for the day.

"WOW!" Red exclaimed. "Just like that, your Pikachu learned Thunderbolt and your Gyarados learned Dragon Rage!? I can't believe it! I only just evolved my Magikarp, and my Pikachu still doesn't know Thunderbolt yet!"  
Leaf chomped down on her chocolate chip waffles and said, "Amazing what sleeping in the presence of wild Pokémon can do for your Pokémon."  
Red said, "Oh, the local WcDonald's is serving hamburgers made from specimens grown in a laboratory. The specimens are grown specifically for food."  
"A convenient loophole for evading a recent law against using Pokémon for food," Nurse Joy said. "The law was passed on account of lobbying from Pokémon rights groups who have been known to go after WcDonald's and other fast food establishments for serving hamburgers."  
"An obvious attempt to put such establishments out of business," one of the other patrons said. "Thank Arceus for modern technology. I hear the Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar Island was also a lobbyist, as they believed the law would boost their cloning efforts and get them big business from WcDonald's and the like."  
"I personally analyzed the DNA," Nurse Joy said, "and each burger is made from 100% pure Miltank clones grown at Cinnabar Lab and fed a lot of calcium. They're more nutritious than the burgers made before the law was passed, that's for sure."  
Leaf asked, "Is it because the farmers never fed their Miltank calcium?"  
"There were other concerns as well," Nurse Joy said. "The Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar Island helps to enforce the law and ensure all hamburgers offered at WcDonald's and other establishments are legal. Oh, Leaf, your Pokémon are fighting fit now."  
Leaf ran to the healing station to pick up her Pokémon and promptly let Clefairy and Pikachu out of their Poké Balls. Bowing, Nurse Joy said, "We hope to see you again."  
Nearby, Iris was waiting for her Clefairy and Jigglypuff to heal. "Oh, hi," she said. "I told my friends all about you. They want to see if the rumors are true."  
"What are your friends like?"  
"They all wear different colors," Iris said. "Dana wears red and uses Fire-type Pokémon. Miriam wears green and uses Grass-type Pokémon. Emily wears blue and uses Water-type Pokémon. Linda wears orange and uses Electric-type Pokémon. Don't disappoint them when you go out, OK?"  
Leaf walked over to the PC and booted it up. Accessing the Pokémon Storage System, she shuffled her lineup a bit and benched Mankey and Pidgey in favor of Geodude and Zubat. Before leaving, she got Clefairy and Pikachu some breakfast.  
"Stay safe," Red said.  
"I've got my Pokémon to protect me," Leaf said. "Of course I'm going to stay safe."  
She then left the Pokémon Center to continue her journey down Mt. Moon.


	8. The Prehistoric Job

Jovan summoned one of three Pokémon on his person. A creature resembling a Poké Ball with angry eyes appeared. "You ready to do this?" the super nerd asked. The creature, a Voltorb, flashed a small amount of electricity in approval.  
Jovan proceeded to secure a metal dome over the Voltorb. "Three... two... one..."  
KABOOM! Jovan removed the dome and recalled the Voltorb, which was in no condition to battle. He removed the pieces of the rock and found a Dome Fossil. As he put it in his bag, he heard footsteps. Turning, he saw Leaf standing there. "What the...!?" he exclaimed. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Before Leaf could tell him to calm down, Jovan threw a Poké Ball containing one of his two Pokémon to still have any will to fight. Inside was a Magnemite. Leaf, knowing the (non-)effects of Electric-types on Ground-types, summoned Geodude. Both tackled each other repeatedly, but Geodude prevailed in the end.  
Jovan's other Voltorb was a bit tougher, especially since it kept using Screech, forcing Geodude to put extra effort into hardening himself using Defense Curl. However, once again Geodude was able to vanquish his opponent.  
"My Pokémon won't do," Jovan groaned as he handed over the prize money. "I'm gonna have to find some stronger ones…"  
"Oh, I think I heard an explosion," Leaf said. "Do you know anything about it?"  
Jovan briefly panicked before sheepishly admitting, "That was me. A friend of mine is helping me develop a safe way to blow those fossils out of hiding. The first legal way of using explosives in fossil digs, as it were."  
Leaf paused for a moment and said, "Interesting. Controlled explosions should be OK, but do run that method by the Pokémon Inspection Agency or whoever it is that controls these fossil digs, OK?"  
As Leaf picked up a nearby Potion that had been lying around, Jovan said, "I intend to."  
Leaf progressed towards the northeast, running into a Zubat or two along the way. She soon happened across a boy wearing a very familiar slouch hat. "Excuse me," said she. "Do you happen to know the way to Cerulean City? I'm going there to test my skills as a Pokémon trainer."  
"Why, sure! You need to go through this cave to get to Cerulean," the bug catcher replied. "And you'll need to get past me, Robby, first!"  
With these words, Robby summoned a Caterpie. Leaf sent Beedrill out to counter. Just a few Poison Stings were enough to drop him. The next matchup was Leaf's Butterfree vs. Robby's Metapod. Confusion sufficed to take care of Metapod. The final matchup was the same as the first matchup, and the result was exactly the same.  
Though Robby frowned as he handed over the prize money, he was at least man enough to admit that he had lost. "Zubat is tough," he continued, "but it can be useful if you catch one."  
"Now you tell me-pika…" Pikachu groaned.  
As Leaf continued through the cave, Robby said, "Good luck!"  
Some wild Pokémon later, Leaf encountered an Escape Rope. She ran over to it and was about to pick it up. Suddenly, another hand grabbed it. Leaf recognized her by her tunic. "Don't tell me," said she. "You're Dana?"  
"How did you know?" Dana asked.  
"I battled your friend yesterday," Leaf said. "Anyway, I found this Escape Rope first."  
"No, I did!"  
They suddenly got into an immature argument that ended with their sticking their tongues at each other. "Fine! Let this battle decide it!" Dana shrugged as she summoned Growlithe.  
"I'll take care of this one-pippi!" Clefairy said as she charged in. Just a couple of Water Guns or so sufficed to take care of her enemy. She experienced the exact same results against Vulpix and narrowly avoided getting burned by her Ember attack.  
Handing over the prize money and conceding defeat, Dana said, "Well, you didn't disappoint. Besides, I've got a bunch of Escape Ropes anyway."  
"You could've just said so-pippi," Clefairy pouted as she, Leaf, and Pikachu proceeded northward.

Nearby, another girl, wearing a similar tunic, was practicing her martial arts skills in an open space. Like Iris and Dana, she also wore bike shorts underneath. Suddenly, she froze. "It's like someone's right behind me," said she. As it turned out, Leaf was right behind her. However, the pause made her notice how great her surroundings were. "Wow! It's way bigger in here than I thought!"  
"En garde!" Leaf shouted as she summoned her Zubat, acting on Robby's advice. The girl, Miriam, summoned Oddish. "Bad idea," Leaf said as the two went at each other, Oddish with Absorb and Zubat with Leech Life. Leech Life may have been pretty weak, but Oddish was twice as weak against it. Absorb, on the other hand, did little to faze Zubat, who simply shrugged it off by sucking his opponent's energy. Stupidly, Miriam thought she could achieve different results with her other Pokémon, Bellsprout. She never counted on Leaf knowing that dual-types of the Grass and Poison types were doubly weak against Bug-type attacks, known to be among the weakest attacks a Pokémon could learn. Zubat was quick to humiliate her.  
"Oh! I lost it!" Miriam groaned as she handed over the prize money. "Oh, how do you get out of here?"  
"Your friend Iris just so happens to be right near the entrance southwest of here," Leaf said.

Continuing west, Leaf encountered more than her fair share of Zubat (dealt with by Pikachu), plus a few Geodude and Sandshrew (both dealt with by Clefairy). As she rounded the next corner, another hole in the ground caught her eye. She ran over and climbed down. To her surprise, a wild Paras appeared. "Is that a Super Mushroom?" she asked. "Am I going to grow to twice my size with that?"  
She summoned Zubat, who weakened it enough with Leech Life before she lobbed a Poké Ball at it. The catch was successful, but the Poké Ball then disappeared. "Oh. I already have six on me."  
Leaf continued down the short corridor and climbed down a ladder going deeper still into a musty chamber occupied only by a Rocket grunt digging for fossils. With Clefairy and Pikachu accompanying her, she carefully approached him from behind. Pikachu zapped the Rocket grunt to get his attention. "Hey! That hurt!" he suddenly shouted before noticing Leaf right behind him. "We're pulling a big job here! Get lost, kid!"  
"You just try to 86 us-pika!" Pikachu said. "I've seen that uniform before, and last time it was bad news-pika!"  
"Just what are you up to, with that big job of yours?" Leaf asked. "I assume it's got something to do with fossils?"  
"Damn it," the Rocket grunt said. "I tried asking you nicely, but you just had to ask too many questions, didn't you? Go, Zubat!"  
"I'll take care of this brute-pika," Pikachu said. "Pi-ka-CHUUUUU!"  
Zubat barely stood a chance against her before she dropped him. She was able to get past ultrasonic-induced confusion to finish him off. "I was told your yellow devil friend hits Pokémon hardest if they got wings," the Rocket grunt said, "so I came prepared!"  
The Rocket grunt summoned his other Pokémon, an Ekans. Leaf countered with Butterfree and Confusion, and he was able to dodge attempts to constrict him as he put Ekans to sleep with some spore. Within seconds, Ekans was toast.  
Handing over the prize money, the Rocket grunt admitted, "So, you are good. My friend was right about you. Anyway, we're looking for some good, strong Pokémon fossils. If you find one, give it to me and scram!"  
Leaf didn't find any fossils in the chamber. Instead, she picked up a TM and an Ether. However, as she was ascending, she felt her foot hit something hard. But it wasn't a Geodude this time.  
It was a Dome Fossil.

Upon finding the Dome Fossil, Leaf used an Escape Rope to retreat to the Mt. Moon Pokémon Center. Brock had just finished digging for fossils and was waiting there. "Good work on your first fossil find," said he.  
Leaf proceeded to take the elevator to B4 to register and deposit her Dome Fossil. When she came back up, she asked, "Did you find any fossils today, Brock?"  
"Nope. No luck today," Brock said. "Maybe next week."  
Once Leaf's Pokémon had finished healing, she left, but not before saying, "Let me know if you find a fossil before we next meet, OK?"

Almost as soon as she left, she was in for another surprise. "HELP!"  
It wasn't the voice of the Bulbasaur Scout hanging out outside. It wasn't Iris or any of her friends, either.  
It was an Eevee, apparently having escaped from Team Rocket.  
Leaf approached the Eevee and asked, "What happened?"  
"Aren't you surprised to see a talking Pokémon?" Eevee asked. "Not even a little?"  
Leaf said, "I HAVE talking Pokémon."  
"Anyway, I have a twin who the Rockets kidnapped and experimented on along with me," Eevee said. "Why do you think I can speak human language? In any case, I escaped."  
"Stick with me," Leaf said. "I'm going to deal with your problem as quickly as I can."  
"Thanks!" Eevee said. "You're a pal!"  
"And I know exactly what to do first," Leaf said as she ran back into the Pokémon Center.


	9. Sharing Is Caring

"I heard," Nurse Joy said. "My cousin in Viridian told me all about it. Those Rockets stole her serum to use in their own twisted experiments. She also reported it to her bosses."  
Leaf said, "Don't worry. From what I've seen, all those Rockets have managed to accomplish is teach Pokémon how to talk. One thing's for sure, though: if THAT is their intention, I don't know how it factors into their plan with the fossils in Mt. Moon."  
Eevee said, "I don't know very much myself, and I've spent the past several weeks in Rocket custody."  
Nearby, a gentleman was reading the newspaper. "'Team Rocket Attacks Cerulean Citizens'… Team Rocket is always in the news!"  
Leaf grabbed one of the newspapers off the rack. Indeed, Team Rocket had made the front page.

TEAM ROCKET ATTACKS CERULEAN CITIZENS  
Yesterday, Team Rocket, the notorious organized crime group, attacked Cerulean City in the dark of the night, burglarizing a house in the northeast. The local police has so far been frustrated in its attempts to track down the individual (who was believed to have acted alone on the job) responsible for the burglary, and the entire city is on high alert. Picnickers in the local Squirtle Scout company, whose members are all students of Riverside Private School for Girls (known for its blue Picnicker uniforms), are making afterschool patrols of the city, each taking hour-long shifts to protect their home from a future Rocket attack.  
"Between the death of my father and this," said Misty Waterflower, the local Gym Leader and a Squirtle Scout, "the Rockets will pay for their misdeeds eventually. In fact, just yesterday I almost lost one of my friends to those miserable men in black when they took her into Cerulean Cave, ostensibly as a blood sacrifice for the beast inside of that hellhole, but in reality, they were just using her as bait to try to do me in as well! Because of them, I'm one of few who has seen that creature personally. But I'm not afraid of that monster. In any case, my friends and I will work day and night to make sure the rest of the city can sleep at night."  
Miss Waterflower, the youngest of four children, is the youngest Gym Leader in the history of the Pokémon League, having inherited the Gym from her deceased father Aquarius, who died before she turned 10. (He is buried in a mausoleum located in Cerulean Cemetery.) She currently serves on the 5:00 shift on Thursday afternoons and the 1:00 shift on Sunday afternoons. Violet, one of her older sisters, is personally being groomed to perform her duties as Gym Leader in her absence.  
So far, the Rockets, who are allegedly afraid of her due to her having beaten her idol, Lorelei of the Elite Four, in an exhibition match, have eluded capture. Another Squirtle Scout, Diana, has commented on the perpetrator's whereabouts. "According to my mother's friend, Officer Jenny," she said, "the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime, so whenever I'm on patrol duty, you can always find me around that house."  
Neither Officer Jenny nor the residents of the burglarized house could be reached for comment as of press time.

"Unbelievable," Leaf said. "Professor Oak said I have acquired 22 Pokémon, either by catching them, evolving them, or other means!"  
"Yeah, so?"  
"I suppose he means you, too," Leaf continued. "Even my Pokédex updated itself shortly after I agreed to help you! And yet, as far as the whole Storage System thing is concerned, all you're doing is following me around!"  
"I know," Eevee said. "I'm surprised it counted as you acquiring me."  
"Well, anyway, the Professor told me I still need more Pokémon," Leaf said. "I guess I should take it as one step closer to 150."  
"I know you'll keep me safe from harm," Eevee said. "Right?"  
Leaf giggled and said, "You and your twin brother, once we find him. Even if it means putting you in a Poké Ball."  
"I'm fine with that," Eevee said. "A bit small on the inside, I'll imagine, but definitely better than those primitive traps the Rockets used to ensnare me and my brother, that's for sure."  
As they continued their way through Mt. Moon, Leaf asked, "So what exactly DID those miserable Rockets do to you, anyway?"  
"I can't tell you," Eevee said. "All I can say is, it was extremely unpleasant."  
Leaf shuddered to even think about what Eevee must've gone through before escaping. Enough had been said about his captivity at the hands of Team Rocket to provide her a clear picture of what it was probably like. Even if it wasn't inappropriate for the ears of a 10-year-old, Eevee didn't have any time to explain it anyway. A Zubat had swooped down, yet again.  
"They don't tire of harassing us, do they-pika?" Pikachu groaned before zapping the Zubat into orbit. Just before the spot where Leaf had had her battle with Miriam, another Zubat attacked. Pikachu once again did her usual thing, and then a Sandshrew jumped them just around the bend. Clefairy had to step in, since Pikachu's attacks would've been utterly useless against Sandshrew.  
After a few more such encounters, they finally reached the corner near where the second ladder was. This time, Leaf bypassed it and continued down the path.  
"Did you come to explore, too?" a nearby youngster asked.  
"Actually, I came to fight."  
Upon hearing this, the youngster summoned a Rattata. Mankey promptly came out of his Poké Ball, itching for a fight. "OK, Captain," Leaf said, "you know what to do."  
Mankey ran to Rattata and struck with Low Kick. The youngster then summoned another Rattata, which Mankey dealt with just as easily. Learning his lesson this time, the youngster summoned a Zubat. A frightened Mankey then scurried over to Leaf, who said, "I understand, Captain. This is not a job for you."  
As Leaf recalled Mankey, Pikachu charged in, saying, "I got this-pika! Pi-ka-CHUUUUU!"  
The youngster scowled as he handed over the prize money, saying, "Losing stinks."  
"I know how you feel," Leaf said. "I'm trying to get back at the last guy I lost to myself. Name's Leaf, by the way."  
"I'm Josh. I came here to show off to girls," the youngster admitted, "but then Team Rocket scared them away."  
All of a sudden, Josh felt some bubbles ensnare him. It was his girlfriend. "Emily! Didn't expect to see you here!"  
"My friend Iris told me not to let Team Rocket scare me away," Emily said, "so here I am. Anyway, you'll pay for roughing up my boyfriend, strange girl."  
Horsea was the first in the fray. She didn't stand a chance against Pikachu's Thunderbolt, nor did the Poliwag she summoned in her place. "I'm sorry! I couldn't avenge you!"  
Handing over the prize money, Emily continued, "I'd be no match for Linda, either, if we were to get in a fight."  
Leaf continued into the huge opening in the cave, picking up a stray Moon Stone nearby. Approaching the hole in the floor she had just discovered, she ended up tripping, falling face-first too close to a nearby hiker, who quickly jumped backwards in fright. "WHOA! You shocked me!" he shouted before realizing the figure before him wasn't one of those Rockets he had heard about. "Oh, you're just a kid."  
"Don't take me lightly," Leaf said as she got up. "I've taken on two Rockets already, and my Pikachu, who I call Lita, is strong enough to inflict 100,000 volts of pain on even an Onix if she's got the willpower."  
"Willpower I'm not willing to waste unless it's very important-pika," Pikachu reminded her.  
The hiker, named Marcos, summoned a Geodude. Clefairy made short work of him, and the Geodude that followed, with Water Gun; however, the Onix that followed was a bit too much for her. Pikachu stepped in and cherry-tapped the already weak and water-stained Onix with a very weak Thunderbolt.  
"Wow! Shocked again!" Marcos exclaimed as he handed over the prize money. "But anyway, kids like you shouldn't be in dark places like this."  
"Don't worry, Marcos… that's your name, right? I know what I'm doing," Leaf said. "Those Rockets are no match for me and my Pokémon."  
With these words, Leaf started descending down the final ladder.

Almost immediately, she was assaulted by a Zubat which Pikachu took care of easily. Beedrill managed to stomp the next wild Pokémon, a Paras. Knowing this, Leaf expected another wild Pokémon ambush around the corner. She was ambushed, all right–but by yet another girl dressed like the last four girls she had battled, except with a different color scheme on her outfit. "What did our enemies say, again? 'Surrender now or prepare to fight', wasn't it? Anyway, I challenge you!"  
With these words, the girl, Linda, summoned a Pikachu. Leaf countered with her Geodude, on which Linda's Pikachu couldn't make one scratch with her ThunderShock attack, whereas Geodude smashed her easily. Geodude was also able to do the same to her Magnemite.  
"You must be pretty strong," Linda said as she handed over the prize money. "I heard you were already able to take care of two of those Rockets down there."  
"You heard correctly," Leaf said as she continued onward, descending the ladder as her Pikachu, Clefairy, and Eevee followed her.

Leaf was now almost at the bottom of the cave. To her right was some major activity. Someone was lighting a bottle on fire. "A Molotov cocktail," she muttered. Turning to the source of the commotion, she then shouted, "HEY! MISTER! THAT'S AGAINST THE LAW!"  
Unfortunately, she had shouted that at a Rocket grunt, who furiously lobbed the Molotov cocktail at her. She and her Pokémon were able to scurry out of the way so they wouldn't catch fire and potentially burn to death. Having missed, the Rocket grunt tried again. Again, she and her Pokémon dodged. The third time, Leaf was close enough to grab it out of his hand and hold it in front of Clefairy, who put it out with a Water Gun.  
"Oi!" the angry Rocket grunt shouted with a Cockney accent. "'Tis dangerous fer liddle dus'bins ta stick der red roses in grown-u' business!"  
Before Leaf knew it, there stood in front of her the meanest Pokémon she had ever laid eyes upon up to that point–meaner than even his short-tempered, Cockney-accented master. "What the devil is that thing?" she asked.  
"Say 'ello ta me liddle frien'!" the Rocket grunt shouted. "'Is name be Raticate!"  
Geodude suddenly popped out of his Poké Ball, ready to dish as much as he could take and then some. Raticate's Hyper Fang had little effect on him, but just a few Rock Throws was enough to drop him.  
"I'm steamed!" the Rocket grunt shouted as he reluctantly handed over the prize money.  
"I'm onto you, limey," Leaf said before recalling Geodude. "Just what are you doing stealing fossils?"  
"'Twould appear Pokémon lived 'ere long 'fore mankin' existed," the Rocket grunt said. It was the first thing Leaf had heard him say in an indoor voice. "Team Rocket's especially interested in findin' ou' which ones. Da Boss always fancied 'imself a Pokémon researcher, dinnee?"  
"I'd like to meet him someday," Leaf said, "and try to convince him there are better ways to research Pokémon than by stealing these fossils."

Leaf and her Pokémon continued along the way, fighting every Zubat, Geodude, and other wild Pokémon in their path. Finally, they found one more Rocket grunt in an open space. "These fossils are Team Rocket's," said he. "If we were to revive them, we could sell them for cash!"  
It was then that Pikachu noticed that he was holding a Pokémon captive. She glanced at Eevee, who said, "That's him, all right. That's my brother!"  
Pointing at the Rocket grunt, Pikachu shouted, "You'll be sorry!"  
"I will, will I?" he sneered before summoning two Pokémon at once: a Rattata and a Zubat. "Didn't we already see enough of you-pika?" Pikachu asked with a bored tone in her voice.  
"I'll take care of this clown!" Eevee shouted, lunging towards his brother's captor and biting him in the arm. The reaction from Rattata and Zubat was swift, and Mankey popped out of his Poké Ball to assist Pikachu. Sensing that victory was inevitable, Leaf didn't bother waiting for the Rocket grunt to fork over the prize money and simply took it from him. Before returning to where she was standing, she took out an empty Poké Ball and captured the poor Eevee where he stood. "Your brother is now in good hands," Leaf told Eevee. "I'll keep you both safe from harm."  
By the time Leaf lay down another Poké Ball for Eevee to capture himself in, both Rattata and Zubat had fainted. Growling in anger, the Rocket grunt recalled both and snarled, "Now I'm mad…!"  
As Leaf, Clefairy, and Pikachu walked right by him, and as the now-occupied Poké Balls disappeared into Leaf's account on the Pokémon Storage System, he cursed at her and shouted in her direction, "You made me mad! Team Rocket will blacklist you!"  
"Like that's going to do any good," Leaf thought to herself as she picked up a hidden Moon Stone that had just caught her eye. "I never wanted to join that group anyway."  
"Hey, stop!" a super nerd called out as she was about to pass him by. "Who are you, exactly?" Leaf asked.  
"Name's Miguel. My buddy and I created a super secret technique for digging up fossils."  
Leaf facepalmed as Miguel continued, "And I found these fossils, so they're both mine! So stay away from them!"  
"Uh, Miguel," Leaf said, a bit embarrassed. "I'm not a plainclothes Rocket, if that's what you–"  
"I SAID STAY AWAY!" he shouted at top volume as he summoned Grimer. "OK, you super nerd," Leaf growled, trying not to get too carried away, "if it's a fight you want, then I CHOOSE YOU! BUTTERFREE!"  
"Butterfree!" the cute little creature chirped as he came out of his Poké Ball. "You know what to do," Leaf said. Butterfree used his confusion technique on Grimer. He couldn't dodge, but he could disable, and disable he did, forcing Butterfree to go for a more physical assault. Thankfully, Miguel's Grimer hadn't yet reached the point where he could poison on contact, so Butterfree could tackle him into oblivion without having to worry about his own health and safety.  
Miguel then summoned a Voltorb, which Geodude put down rather easily. "You may think the poison threat is past," he said, "but don't rest on your laurels yet, because I still have one more line of defense!"  
With these words, he summoned Koffing, who expelled small amounts of chlorine from his system as he gleefully called out, "Koffing~!"  
"Teach these thieves a lesson they'll never forget!" Miguel shouted from the top of his lungs. "SMOOOOOOG!"  
As Miguel put on a gas mask, Koffing expelled offensive amounts of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead compounds together and sent them towards Leaf and her Pokémon. Seeing the smog approaching, Clefairy and Pikachu promptly went back into their respective Poké Balls to protect themselves. Luckily, Leaf remembered that Poison-type Pokémon were immune to poison, so she recalled Geodude, as she knew from experience that though Rock-type Pokémon weren't easily harmed by Poison-type attacks, they could still be poisoned ("At least Brock knew to have some Full Heal on hand."), and summoned Beedrill in his place before ducking and covering.  
"J. Roger! Fury Attack! Quickly, before we all die of carbon monoxide poisoning here!" Leaf barely had time to shout. Beedrill went at Koffing, who then attacked physically. The assault continued until Beedrill dropped Koffing and Miguel cried "Uncle!"  
Clefairy and Pikachu popped out of their Poké Balls as Miguel shouted, "OK! OK! I'll share. We'll each take one of these fossils! No being greedy, OK?"  
"Fair enough," Leaf said, "and seeing that I had picked up a Dome Fossil recently, I know exactly which one I want."  
Clefairy timidly asked, "Is it over now-pippi?"  
"Yes," Leaf said. "The air is clear."  
After Leaf picked up the Helix Fossil, Miguel took the Dome Fossil lying right next to it saying, "This one's mine, then."  
"Where will we go from here?" Leaf asked. "I'm dropping this one off in Cerulean City."  
"It's pretty far from here," Miguel said, "but Cinnabar Island happens to be host to a research lab. They're researching Pokémon fossils and trying to revive them, so I hear."  
"I'll keep that in mind," Leaf said. "Oh, thanks for the fossil!"  
"Any time," Miguel said. "Oh, I never did get your name."  
Turning to him before continuing on her way, Leaf said, "It's Leaf."

As she approached the ladder that would take her back to the surface, Leaf heard an explosion. "You OK?" Leaf asked.  
"I'm fine," Miguel said, "except for the bomb someone just blew up near me."  
"Actually," a sinister-sounding male voice said, "we prefer the more refinèd term 'blaster ball'."  
Leaf looked around her. "Who said that?" she asked. "I demand you identify yourself at once!"  
And identify himself he did–he and his female companion who then proceeded to blow up another bomb above Leaf. "To protect the world from devastation!"  
"To unite the people within our nation!"  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"  
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"  
"Jessie!"  
"James!"  
The woman had magenta hip-length hair and wore a white midriff-baring outfit with a miniskirt and go-go boots. "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"  
The man by her side had violet hair and wore a similar, more masculine uniform, which like hers bore the Rocket R on the jacket. In his hand he held a fresh rose. "Surrender now or prepare to fight!"  
A cat-like Pokémon with a coin on his head then appeared in front of both. "Meowth! That's right!"  
"Oh, sweet Arceus," Leaf groaned. "I thought I had taught four of your associates a lesson?"  
"You forgot about us, you little twerp," Jessie remarked. "We're the top enforcers for Boss Rocket!"  
"Or, we would be if we weren't constantly jostling for space in the Rocket's top ranks," James added. "Which would in all honesty make me a made man."  
"Yeah! And I'm aiming to be top cat for da Boss!" Meowth said, speaking in a clear Joisey accent. "Even barrin' dat, I'm my own Pokémon!"  
"But we have our own," Jessie said. "Try to get past us! Ekans, go!"  
"Your turn, Koffing!"  
Leaf rolled her eyes. "I'm not dealing with your stupid smog again," Leaf said as she backed away. "Butterfree, Captain, J. Roger... I'm letting you three call the shots."  
Butterfree, Mankey, and Beedrill did not have to be told twice to jump out of their Poké Balls. Clefairy and Pikachu stayed by Leaf's side, hoping they'd be out of the way in the event James's Koffing was to spew his filth in their general direction.  
It was a tough triple battle, but Team Leaf eventually came out the winner, with the finishing blow being a Fury Attack sent by Beedrill not just towards Koffing but also towards the rest of Team Rocket as well.  
"A brat beat us?" Jessie managed to stammer as everyone was sent flying.  
"You've got to admit, her Pokémon are powerful," James remarked.  
"Ah, shut up!" Jessie snapped.  
"We'll get her yet!" Meowth groaned. "But for now..."  
"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN~!" they shouted in unison as they continued sailing further and further away from Mt. Moon, eventually landing in a forest near Celadon City.  
"Good riddance," Leaf said as she returned to the ladder. "Butterfree! Captain! J. Roger! Return! Oh, Miguel, it's all clear now."  
Leaf, Clefairy, and Pikachu climbed the ladder. Though there was one more to go before they could surface, they managed to reach it without encountering any more wild Pokémon.  
Once again breathing fresh air as they surfaced, they continued on the road to Cerulean City with only one thing on their minds.  
Getting the Cascade Badge.


	10. Making a Splash

"I'll say this for Koffing," Leaf said as she picked up a Great Ball hidden in the grass just to the east of Mt. Moon. "When he goes on the attack, you may as well have been in Unova Metropolis nearly three decades ago!"  
"Why? What happened then-pippi?" Clefairy asked.  
"One of the worst smogs to suffocate the area, that's what! Factories, incinerators, and automobiles were to blame for it, and the government finally stepped in sometime after. From what I've heard, the smog that Thanksgiving was as thick as peanut butter, and it was dangerous!"  
Stopping only to pick up a TM that was out in the clear, she and her Pokémon proceeded down the ledge and were jumped by a wild Ekans.  
Coincidentally, a Rocket just nearby was in her exact same situation. What neither of them realized at the time was that as they summoned Beedrill to take care of their opponent and threw their Poké Balls at their weakened quarry, they were doing it in sync.  
Following an awkward glance, Leaf proceeded to Cerulean City with her Pokémon.

"Hold it," said a police officer just outside of Cerulean City. "Identify yourself, stranger."  
Leaf wasn't really hesitant. "I was referred to the local Gym Leader by Brock Harrison of Pewter City. The name's Leaf, and I'm an aspiring Pokémon trainer. I'm also running an errand for Professor Samuel Oak of Pallet Town, who is my next-door neighbor."  
The officer scratched his head. "Now those are names I've heard before," said he. "But just to be sure, let's see some identification."  
Leaf showed the officer her Pokédex. The officer inspected it and handed it to her. "Looks like your story checks out," said he. "Move along, then."  
Leaf proceeded forward. Things looked peaceful, but girls in blue uniforms were patrolling the area everywhere she looked. She walked up to one of them and asked, "Why the air of martial law around here?"  
"Ask Officer Jenny," the girl said. "She happens to be at the scene of the crime."  
Having noticed that the girl was being accompanied by a menacing-looking Wartortle, Leaf remarked to herself, "For a bunch of picnic girls, these young ladies in blue don't kid around."  
Indeed, half of the girls in blue had a Wartortle which accompanied them on their patrols. Leaf decided to look around for anyone who felt relaxed in an environment like this. She managed to find a young man nearby who took notice of her Pokédex. "You making an encyclopedia on Pokémon?" he asked.  
"Yeah. Why?"  
The young man chuckled and said, "Sounds amusing."  
Leaf frowned as she walked past, stopping by a veteran trader's house. He said he was looking to exchange his Haunter for a Machoke, if she had one. However, she didn't at the moment. "Think of me when you get one," he said as she left and moved on to the daycare center right next door.  
Suddenly, a vine grabbed her by the ankle and tripped her up. The vine dragged her towards its source, a bluish-green Pokémon with a bulb on his back. Leaf immediately recognized him as a Bulbasaur.  
"Easy now," said a young woman in overalls who walked up to the scene. "You don't want to hurt someone who's just paying a visit. Welcome, young lady. What's your name?"  
"Leaf."  
"Mine's Melanie," the woman said. "I take care of injured Pokémon. I nursed this Bulbasaur back to health. He's looking for a good trainer to take care of him now."  
"I feel pretty sorry for him-pika," Pikachu admitted. "I know how it feels to be picked on by the local Weedle-pika."  
Leaf said, "She's native to Viridian Forest. And she's not the only one the local Weedle targeted. They also got my Spearow, who I call Terminator."  
"Oh, you give your Pokémon nicknames! How cute!" Melanie squealed. "What do you call your Pikachu?"  
"I call her Lita," Leaf said, "after a television superhero gifted with the power of electricity."  
It suddenly dawned upon Melanie that Leaf was a suitable enough trainer. "I know! Would you like to take care of this Bulbasaur?"  
"Sure," Leaf said.  
Suddenly, Bulbasaur pointed one of his vines at Pikachu. "Looks like he doesn't want to go without a fight," Melanie observed. "He wants to challenge you for the right."  
"Fine," Pikachu said. "Let's take it outside-pika."  
Leaf walked out of the daycare center with Clefairy, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur. Silently, Pikachu and Bulbasaur took their places. "Mr. Bulbasaur," Pikachu said, "I'll see to it that Leaf gets you all rested up first thing after this-pika."  
Bulbasaur gestured with his vine, as if to say, "Ladies first."  
Pikachu responded with a Tail Whip. Bulbasaur hit her with Vine Whip, but a single Quick Attack from her proved to be sufficient to weaken him enough that he conceded the battle. Leaf threw a Poké Ball at him and caught him promptly.  
As she walked towards the Pokémon Center without Pikachu having to tell her twice, Melanie said, "Please take care of Bulbasaur!"

While waiting for her Pokémon to be healed, Leaf registered her fossil and deposited it in the high-security fossil storage vault underground.  
On the main floor, there was some chatter going on about the Pokémaniac who lived on Cerulean Cape to the north. "That Bill! I heard he'll—"  
"Bill has lots of Pokémon! He collects rare ones, too."  
"—to get rare Pokémon!"  
"Have you heard about Bill?" one young man inside of the Pokémon Center asked. "Everyone calls him a Pokémaniac! Probably just green with envy, though—I mean, who wouldn't want to boast about their Pokémon?"  
Leaf felt uncomfortable with some of the discussion, which implied that this Bill character, whoever he was, really got around. "I did not need to hear that," she said, blushing, regarding one such rumor. It quickly reached the point where she asked Nurse Joy when her Pokémon would be ready. "Not for another hour or two, I'm sorry to say," Nurse Joy said, shaking her head. "Try exploring different parts of the city in the meantime."  
By that point fed up with all that talk about Bill's exploits, Leaf said, "I plan to."

Leaf stopped by a bike shop and saw a lass nearby. "I want a bright red bicycle!" she exclaimed suddenly. "I'll keep it at home most of the time, of course; I don't want it to get all dirty."  
Leaf walked in and saw a lot of hot bicycles. There were also a couple of apparently affluent customers looking around. One said, "A plain city bike is good enough for me; you can't put a shopping basket on an MTB!"  
Suddenly, the shopkeeper perked up and took a look at Leaf, summoning her to the counter. "Hi! Welcome to Cerulean Bike Shop! Here's a good deal you can't miss! Look at this cool bike!" he exclaimed. "Do you want it?"  
Leaf said, "It looks good enough. Sure, I'd—"  
"Sorry! You can't afford it!" the shopkeeper suddenly said, cutting her off.  
"How did you know?" she asked.  
"You look more like a country bumpkin than the affluent types I usually get," the shopkeeper said, "so you don't look like you've got the 1,000,000 Pokédollars that bike costs. Don't worry, I'll hold it for you for the next week. Try to make enough money by then. Deal?"  
Leaf hesitated for a moment before shaking the shopkeeper's hand. "Deal."  
"I don't have too much faith in you, though," the shopkeeper said. "Oh! Do try to pick up a bike voucher. It's good for one bike, if you can get one. Come back again soon!"  
As she walked out, another customer remarked, "These bikes are cool, but they're way expensive!"  
"No kidding, Sherlock," she told him as she passed by.

Next, she came across a trainer who was having a hard time training her Slowbro.  
"OK! Slowbro! Use Sonicboom! Come on, Slowbro, pay attention!"  
The trainer then tried something simpler. "Slowbro, punch! No! You blew it again!"  
By the time Leaf got up close to the trainer, she was desperate. "Slowbro, withdraw! No! That's wrong!"  
Turning to Leaf, she continued, "It's so hard to control Pokémon! Your Pokémon's obedience depends on your abilities as a trainer!"  
Leaf wondered how that could factor into a Pokémon's obedience.

She found her answer in another house in the northwestern part of Cerulean City.  
"Pokémon Badges are owned only by skilled trainers," said he. "I see you have at least one. Those Badges have amazing secrets! For example!  
"With the Boulder Badge, the attack power of all your Pokémon increases a little bit. It also lets you use Flash any time you desire.  
"When you beat Misty, she'll give you the Cascade Badge, with which Pokémon up to Lv. 30 will obey you, even the outsiders which you may acquire in a trade. Any higher, they become unruly! It also lets you use Cut outside of battle.  
"Upon earning the Thunder Badge, the speed of all your Pokémon increases a little bit. You can also use Fly outside of battle.  
"If you get the Rainbow Badge, Pokémon up to Lv. 50 will obey you. Any higher, and they become unruly! You can also use Strength in the field.  
"Upon reception of the Soul Badge, the defensive power of all your Pokémon increases a little bit. It will also allow you to Surf outside of battle.  
"As soon as you earn the Marsh Badge, Pokémon up to Lv. 70 will obey you. Any higher—you guessed it—they become unruly!  
"Your Pokémon's special abilities become a bit more powerful when you go to Cinnabar and earn the Volcano Badge.  
"Last, but not least, is the Earth Badge. I don't know who gives it out, let alone its true power, but I heard that all Pokémon will obey you! Kinda scary to think about if it lands in the wrong hands, if I dare say so myself."

After picking up her Pokémon, Leaf walked past a house in the northeastern corner of Cerulean City. There she saw Officer Jenny.  
"So this is the scene of the crime," Leaf mused.  
"Yep. And now you know why this city is practically under martial law," Officer Jenny said.  
"What happened here?" Leaf asked.  
"These poor people here were robbed," Officer Jenny said. "We're positive that Team Rocket is behind this terrible deed. Even our police force is having trouble with the Rockets!"  
Leaf said, "Guess that explains the little volunteers in blue."  
"I know," Officer Jenny said. "At least they know their duty as citizens. With any luck, they'll make a citizen's arrest before the criminal returns to the scene of the crime."  
Nearby, Leaf saw on top of a ledge a redheaded girl in a yellow tank top and jean shorts. The girl, wearing a pair of ballet slippers, was practicing what at first appeared to be ballet but quickly showed itself to in fact be gymnastics. "She's beautiful," Leaf said. "I only wish I could move like that…"  
Before she could try to talk to the girl, she disappeared into the Gym through a door that closed as quickly as it opened. As she jumped off the ledge, she asked, "Where did she go?"  
"Don't bother following her through the door," an awfully familiar voice said. As it turned out, a talking Meowth was right nearby. The Meowth continued, "That door is for employees only."  
Leaf promptly did a double take. "Sorry. It would seem you had a run-in with that other talking Meowth," Meowth remarked. "I know him. He likes to hang out with a redhead and a purplehead wearing white uniforms. Some time ago, I saw them heading west to Mt. Moon. Whatever they were up to, it couldn't be good, but I personally suspect the burglary is connected to it somehow."  
"No harm, no foul," Leaf said. "I was only looking to challenge the Gym Leader."  
"The girl who walked in just now? Yeah, she's the Gym Leader," Meowth said. "I suggest you enter through the canopy just below the Seel on top of the roof."  
Leaf whistled ye olde music hall song "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" as she walked into the Gym.

Upon the bulletin board in the lobby was the following:  
"WATER BALLETS DAILY AT 5:00 PM COURTESY OF THE SENSATIONAL SISTERS! Check out magic shows from THE LIVELY LILY every Thursday evening! CERULEAN CLOYSTERS: Final results of the season: 17-65, last place in the Kanto Division of the International Basketball Association. Better luck next year! Gym Leader: Misty, the Tomboyish Mermaid! Open every afternoon and evening to challengers for the Cascade Badge!"  
"Hell of an entertainment complex," Leaf said to herself as she wandered in one direction, right into the crowd of a magic show that was about to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages!" shouted a blonde woman in a red bunny girl costume. "I'm so glad you could join us for this week's magic show…"  
"Who's that?" Leaf asked one spectator.  
"That's Sakura Waterflower," the spectator replied, "the eldest of the Sensational Sisters, the water ballet group she founded with Violet and Lily. She can always be counted on to overact in her introductions."  
"…and now, without further ado, I bring you… THE LIVELY LILY!"  
A pink-haired young woman wearing a Goldeen dress, pink tights, and heels jumped out of the water and landed gracefully on the stage. Leaf knew immediately that that was Lily Waterflower, known to spectators at her magic shows as The Lively Lily. She was so good at her magic act, she didn't need to say anything to demonstrate her proficiency as a magician, whether she was doing such simple tricks as pulling a rabbit out of a hat or summoning lily petals apparently out of nowhere or escaping from a full tank of water, Houdini-style. As a matter of fact, she didn't say one word during her performance.  
After the performance, Leaf was stopped in the lobby by Sakura, still in her bunny girl costume. "Excuse me," said she, "I'm looking for the Gym Leader, Misty."  
"Ah, yes! For that you've come to the right place, if you know where to look," Sakura said. "As a matter of fact, let me point you to her. She's that way!"  
"Thanks… Sakura, right?"  
"Ee-yup!"

"Yo! Champ in making!" the gym guide shouted in Leaf's direction as she approached.  
"Didn't I see you in Pewter City?" Leaf asked.  
"That was my brother-in-law," the gym guide, also named Clyde, said. "Anyway, heed mine advice, amiga.  
"Misty is a professional trainer, keeping up a tradition started by her dearly departed dad—she specializes in Water-type Pokémon! You can drain all their water with Grass-type Pokémon like Bulbasaur. Or, better still, your Pikachu can zap 'em with electricity!"  
"I'm sure ready for that-pika!" Pikachu smirked.  
In the back of the Gym, Leaf saw the redheaded girl, Misty, again. She still wore the same outfit Leaf had seen her wearing some time earlier, but she was now wearing red trainers instead of her slippers. Misty appeared starstruck at the sight of her Pikachu.  
Leaf proceeded down the platform all the way to her, but midway down…  
"SPLASH!"  
A sudden burst of water, followed by the sight of a young man wearing a bikini-cut Speedo popping out of the water, startled Leaf so much, she promptly fell into the water. Though she knew how to swim, having learned back home in Pallet Town, she was too scared to remember, and she ended up sinking like a rock.  
Seeing this, Misty jumped off the lifeguard chair where she had been perched, kicked off her trainers, and dove straight into the water. Swimming under the platform, she grabbed Leaf and pulled her up to the surface and helped her back onto the platform.  
"Luis!" she barked in the swimmer's direction. "How many times have I told you not to be so rough when challenging new trainers?"  
Turning to Leaf, she asked, "You OK?"  
"I'm fine," Leaf said. "I was just a bit startled, is all."  
"You know, you should change clothes before you catch your death of cold," Misty said. "That dress of yours looks soaking wet!"  
"'Catch my death of cold'? Fine talk coming from you," Leaf muttered as she shamelessly removed her dress on the spot, revealing a black camisole swimsuit, which she had been wearing all along, underneath. "What kind of idiot would wear pantyhose when swimming?"  
"The kind of idiot that likes her clothes waterproof," Misty said proudly. "What I'm wearing right now—every last thread—was personally woven by my mother, even the coarse cotton that went into that denim."  
"Doesn't look homemade to me," Leaf said as she wrapped a green leaf print skirt around her waist. "Anyway, the environment looks so relaxed."  
"That's because Team Rocket is so afraid of me, or so it's been said, that a security team isn't really necessary for this Gym," Misty said.  
"Let's just get this over with-pika," Pikachu said, moving to the other side of the roundabout on the platform as Luis summoned his Horsea. She made short work of both him and the Shellder Luis summoned in his place.  
"That can't be!" Luis groaned as he handed over the prize money.  
"Well, that's what happens when you spend your time here slacking off," Misty said. "I suggest you train harder."  
"Oh, I will," Luis said. "You should keep training, too, because so's Misty! No way she'll lose to someone like you!"  
Pikachu rolled her eyes. "You think-pika?"  
All of a sudden, a wild Mew appeared just above the roundabout. "Lita, take care of this one," Leaf said. "I've got to know what it is."  
Pikachu fried the Mew so hard, the creature fell into the water almost immediately. Everyone, even Clyde, threw their Poké Balls at it. They waited intensely for one to pop out. Suddenly, a Poké Ball came out of the water and landed right in Leaf's hands.  
To even her own surprise, she had caught the Mew. "No wonder everyone threw their Poké Balls at it as soon as it was weakened," she said to herself.

"You do not know how impressively lucky you are," Nurse Joy said. "It took a while to get its biological systems checked out; it didn't even appear in our databases! It's been said there are few left; even top experts in the realm of Pokémon research have debunked it as a mere mirage."  
Leaf's dress was still drying at the Gym; however, it was already morning. Bowing, Nurse Joy said, "We hope to see you again!"  
Leaf wondered if every Nurse Joy was contractually obliged to say that after healing a trainer's Pokémon; however, she had little time to ponder that possibility, as her cell phone rang.  
It was Misty. "What a surprise."  
"I found your phone number while I was emptying the sole pocket on your dress," Misty said. "It'll take some time before you can wear it again, by the way."  
"I kind of figured," Leaf remarked.  
"Oh, meet me at the music room of Riverside Private School for Girls before sixth period. I want to tell you something."

Leaf bided her time by training her Pokémon in the grassy area in Route 4. At the appointed time, Leaf showed up and walked into the music room. The doors were already open.  
There was Misty, wearing her school uniform—a blue cap with Squirtle Scout insignia on the front and her ponytail sticking out almost at the back, a blue short-sleeved shirt with the school badge on one side and a pocket on the other, a dark blue tie, blue shorts, light blue tights, and black Mary Janes. She was practicing on the flute when Leaf showed up.  
"Glad to see you could make it," Misty said. "I just want to ask you a favor."  
"Fire away," Leaf said.  
"After school lets out, meet me just off the Nugget Bridge, on the northern edge of town," Misty continued. "I want to show you something just beyond."  
"Can I cross it now?" Leaf asked.  
"Sorry, but no," Misty said. "You probably won't stand a chance against the people on the bridge!"  
"I can handle it!" Leaf insisted.  
Misty shook her head.

As promised, Misty rendezvoused with Leaf just off the Nugget Bridge after changing into more casual clothes. It was the same outfit Leaf had seen her wearing the day before, complete with the trainers. "You ready?"  
"I was born ready," Leaf said.  
"All right, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Misty shouted.  
However, they soon saw a familiar face walking right past the trainers on the Nugget Bridge. "Bonjour!" he said.  
"What the…?" was all Misty could bring herself to say.  
Leaf knew that face. "Blue…!"


	11. Nugget Bridge

Misty rendezvoused with Leaf just off the Nugget Bridge after changing into more casual clothes once school let out for the day. It was the same outfit Leaf had seen her wearing the day before, complete with the trainers. "You ready?"  
"I was born ready," Leaf said.  
"All right, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Misty shouted.  
However, they soon saw a familiar face walking right past the trainers on the Nugget Bridge. "Bonjour!" he said.  
"What the…?" was all Misty could bring herself to say.  
Leaf knew that face. "Blue…!"

"Lita," Leaf said, turning to her Pikachu, "meet the reason why I caught you in the first place. Not to mention the fact that you look pretty cute."  
"Pi-ka-CHUUU."  
Leaf suddenly felt a sharp jolt of electricity pass through her. "Oh. Right. You're a bit sensitive regarding that. Sorry."  
"I'm not just any cute face, remember," Pikachu said. "I can fry you whenever I feel like it-pika."  
Misty was taken by surprise. "I'd be too easy for you," she said, "but then, it's only protocol to accept challenges from new faces like you."  
"Speaking of cute faces," Blue said, "you got any girl scout cookies?"  
"OK! That is an offensive stereotype!" Misty exploded.  
"Calm down, Misty!" Leaf said. "This is my fight. I lost to him before, and I've been waiting a long time for this moment. This is strictly between him and me."  
Blue summoned his Pidgeotto, which had evolved from Pidgey since his last battle with Leaf. Pidgeotto slammed straight into Pikachu with Quick Attack, but she almost immediately got him with Thunderbolt. As Blue fed him a Potion or two to get his strength back up, Pikachu upped her evasiveness with Double Team. It didn't do much—Pidgeotto still got in a Quick Attack, but this time he lost the will to fight after being electrocuted a second time.  
Next, an Abra came onto the playing field. Leaf sent Beedrill forward to poison him with Poison Sting, and Butterfree finished him off with a few Confusions. Despite being weakened severely by Hyper Fang, Mankey was able to drop Blue's Rattata with Low Kick.  
"All right, it's time for a rematch with my first Pokémon!" Blue crowed as he recalled Rattata and summoned Squirtle. Bulbasaur popped out of his Poké Ball. "What? THAT weakling?"  
"You forget," Pikachu said, "that Bulbasaur has the type advantage and is not afraid to use it-pika."  
"OK, Dino, Vine Whip!"  
Bulbasaur attacked Squirtle just as he fired Water Gun at him. This went on for a few turns, before Squirtle fainted and Bulbasaur continued whipping Blue. "Hey! Take it easy!" he shouted. "You won already!"  
"You heard him, Dino! Return!" Leaf shouted.  
As Blue handed over the prize money, he continued, "Oh, guess what? I went to Bill's and got him to show me his rare Pokémon! That added a lot of complete pages to my Pokédex, of course—after all, Bill is a world-famous Pokémaniac. He even invented the Pokémon Storage System on PC! Since you're using his system, I'd say it's only polite to go thank him, don't you think?"  
Leaf was at a loss for words. "Well, I'd better get rolling," Blue continued. "Smell ya later!"  
As Blue walked past, Pikachu said, "I feel for you-pika. I know how it feels to feel one-dimensional-pika."  
"Yeah, I'm not getting it just because I'm a picnic girl," Misty conceded.  
"Must be that sign on the billboard of your Gym," Leaf quipped.  
"No kidding, Sherlock!" Misty was quick to remark. "Not all mermaids have tails instead of legs; that's just one popular depiction thereof. Thankfully, I've only had to remind very few challengers of it."  
"I assume this Blue character was among them?"  
"Leaf, he may have a one-dimensional view of picnic girls, but he's actually a lot brighter than I give him credit for," Misty said. "It's actually your pal Red that was among those I had to explain it to. Of course, he did realize his mistake fairly quickly."  
Leaf asked, "Are you really a mermaid?"  
"Who knows? You'll know for sure," Misty said, "when you see me doing things underwater that can kill a normal human being."  
Leaf shuddered to think about it. "Let's stop talking and start taking care of these goons on the Nugget Bridge," she said. "I'm not sure I want to think about the possibilities when, as far as I know, I'm only human."  
"Oh! Thanks for reminding me!" Misty suddenly exclaimed. "We'd better hurry!"  
They started to cross the Nugget Bridge. A bug catcher was waiting for them some yards away. "Welcome to Golden Ball Bridge," said he, "which some just call the Nugget Bridge."  
"This is exactly what I tried to warn you about," Misty said. "They're an immature lot, that, but they've got powerful Pokémon."  
The bug catcher, named Cale, continued, "Beat us five trainers and win a fabulous prize! You think you got what it takes?"  
Leaf rolled her eyes and summoned Bulbasaur, who used a combination of Leech Seed and Tackle to take out his Pokémon. "Whoo! Good stuff!" Cale exclaimed as he handed over the prize money. "I did my best, I have no regrets!"  
"That was easy," Leaf said. "Are the rest of his friends like that?"  
"He may have been easy," Misty said, "but he was just the beginning. You've still got a bunch of trainers to take care of, and they're each steadily tougher than the last one, so be on your guard."  
No sooner did she say this than they were stopped by a lass wearing the local public school's sailor-style uniform, with bike shorts under her skirt. "I'm second," said she. "Now, it's serious! I'm the real deal, got it?"  
Misty's nose bled explosively, and she fainted. Pikachu was prompt to apply first aid, leaving Leaf a bit handicapped. "I'm not keeping you waiting-pippi!" Clefairy said as she stepped up and gestured to the lass, named Ali. "Bring it-pippi!"  
Clefairy was able to put down both of Ali's Pokémon fairly easily. "Unbelievable!" she exclaimed as she handed over the prize money. "How could I lose? Well, no use crying over spilled milk; I did my best, so I've no regrets!"  
Misty was still a bit dazed from her nosebleed; some stuff had been stuffed up her nostrils to keep it under control, and she still hadn't taken them out. "I wouldn't put it past those boys to say something that can be interpreted as naughty," said she, "but that really knocked the stuffing out of me! Does perversion really know no gender?"  
"I'm starting to wonder about that myself," Leaf said as they progressed further down the bridge. A youngster, Timmy, stopped them halfway down. "Here's No. 3!" said he. "I won't be easy!"  
Misty glanced at Leaf and said, "The way they're talking, I'm surprised they haven't yet commented on your swimsuit."  
"It's a wonder to me, too," Leaf said. "Captain, your turn."  
Mankey dealt with Timmy's Rattata swiftly, Beedrill was called in to drop Ekans with Fury Attack and try to avoid getting strangled by Wrap in the process, and Butterfree finished the fight by confusing the living daylights out of Zubat. By the time it was over, Timmy had become so exhausted he fainted in his exhaustion. "Ow! Stomped flat!" he groaned.  
Leaf helped him back up, and he graciously gave her the prize money, admitting, "I did my best, I have no regrets!"  
Misty asked, "Are they contractually obliged to say that?"  
"As much as any Nurse Joy is to bow and say 'We hope to see you again!' after healing your Pokémon, apparently," Leaf remarked.  
Just a few yards down was a second lass, Reli. "I'm No. 4!" said she. "Getting tired yet?"  
"Mmm… not really," Leaf snarked before sending in Bulbasaur to mop up her pair of Nidoran. Handing over the prize money, Reli said, "I did my best, so I've no regrets!"  
The final stretch was guarded by a camper, name of Ethan, and he seemed to recognize Misty, because he squealed in excitement at the sight of her, much to her great embarrassment. "OK! I'm No. 5!" he said, turning to Leaf. "I'll stomp you~!"  
Ethan had his own Mankey, but Leaf knew exactly how to neutralize that trigger-happy simian. First, Beedrill poisoned him with Poison Sting. Butterfree followed up by hammering him repeatedly with Confusion until he fainted.  
"Whoa! Too much!" Ethan exclaimed as he forked over the prize money. "I did my best, I have no regrets!"  
By that point, Leaf really was exhausted. Before claiming the prize at the end, she and Misty decided to rest up for a while on a lonely spot of beach conveniently connected to the bridge via a rickety bunch of stairs just a few yards before the Nugget Bridge challenge's head honcho.  
"And you wonder why we don't wear swimsuits to swim class," an indignant Misty remarked as she finally removed the obstructions from her nostrils—her nose was already feeling better at that point. "Why, one of these days I'm gonna blaze trails in swimwear so that girls don't have to worry about perverts like those—I'm surprised they didn't bring up your swimsuit once as we plowed through them!"  
"What, the Squirtle Scouts have their swim class in this neck of the woods?" Leaf remarked.  
"Not just here," Misty pointed out, "but as far east as just below Cerulean Cape."  
"From all the rumors I'd heard about Bill," Leaf said, "I thought they didn't want to take any chances."  
"Well, that was part of the reason, too," Misty said. "Not all those rumors are true, I hasten to add, but they certainly gave him a bad reputation in some circles."  
Sighing, she continued, "Well, now that it's just the two of us, I guess I may as well tell you some about myself. You ever seen Sailor Moon?"  
"I've heard about it from some of the girls from Pallet Town to here, at least," Leaf said. "Blue's sister Daisy in particular is a dedicated follower."  
"So am I," Misty said.  
"Say WHAT?"  
"Hey, it's only the most popular thing among the girls around here," Misty said defensively. "But anyway, I've never missed a single episode. I've also collected quite a bit of memorabilia for the series—stopping short of full costumes, of course, but I have replicae of every Sailor Guardian's diadem, both the Inner Guardians _and_ the Outer Guardians. Among other things, I also got every comic book volume of it and its prequel, Codename: Sailor V, released to date, and every volume of the animated series on laser videodisc. Yep! When it comes to home media, you can't beat laser videodisc! The video quality even surpasses that of regular broadcast television, though it's not quite at the resolution of Hi-Vision."  
"What's Hi-Vision?" Leaf asked.  
"The new high definition broadcast system that just came on the air via satellite last year," Misty said. "Fifteen years in the making! It'd be nice if I'd be able to watch Sailor Moon in high definition…"  
"I don't know much about high definition," Leaf said, "but one thing's for sure: you're thinking 20 years too far ahead. 10 years, if we're lucky."  
"Regarding high definition," Misty said, "I heard they're working on a high definition cassette at Victor of Vermilion in association with Silph Company in Saffron, and though high definition videodiscs don't look to be in the cards just yet, a consortium led by Telegraff in the southern portion of Celadon City appears to be developing a better-looking, not to mention more compact videodisc that, so they've boasted, can beat laser videodisc any day of the year!"  
"Enough about that," Leaf said. "Tell me some more about yourself."  
"Right! Like I said earlier, I go to Riverside Private School for Girls," Misty said, opening a compact photo album which she had pulled out of her shorts pocket. "That's me in full uniform during my first year. From the very beginning, Riverside's uniform was based on that of the girl guides from the other side of the globe while at the same time alluding to the girl guides' origins as part of that other scout organization at the height of the feminist movement around the turn of the century—hence the shorts, an unusual feature of schoolgirl uniforms even today.  
"Now, a key feature of education at Riverside is the arts. Different classes are rotated around different arts classes each day of the week. Mine has classical dance on Mondays and Thursdays, music on Tuesdays and Fridays, and art on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and we do all that in sixth period."  
Misty then showed Leaf a picture of her at the barre during one dance class a bit later on, when she was a year older. She was still in uniform. "Yeah, we all wore our school uniforms even to dance class," Misty admitted, "and like I said earlier, Riverside doesn't have a swim uniform because of certain concerns, so we wear our school uniforms to swim class, too, which is why Riverside's school uniform is specially designed to be waterproof, even down to our tights. In fact, pretty much the only time we wear anything different is during P.E., and it's more or less the standard P.E. uniform, but with shorts instead of bloomers, for the same reasons as why we don't have a swim uniform. Plus, bloomers are so old-fashioned, anyway."  
A few photos later came a picture of her in a finishing pose for a piece she had performed in the last dance class of the year. "That's where I got my Dancing Merit Patch," Misty said. "It was also the last time my dad ever came to my school on an official visit. Later in the day, as he and my sister Sakura were taking me home afterwards, a Rocket came up to us and robbed us at gunpoint. He took my dad's wallet and mortally wounded him. He was declared DOA; the ambulance that took him away didn't even sound its siren as it left. He was then embalmed, with the wake taking place at the mortuary the next day and the funeral taking place a few days later at the mausoleum where he's buried. Sakura was one of the pallbearers. Practically the whole city was in attendance; after all, he was a beloved member of our community. Sadly, the killer was never brought to justice, at least not as far as I'm aware.  
"That was weeks before my 10th birthday. The will he had left behind was read at the town hall after the funeral, and he left his Pokémon to family and friends alike. I myself got his personal favorite, Starmie, and the Gym which he had run up until his early demise. This effectively made me the new Gym Leader before I got my Pokémon license. This was also around the time the Elite Four gathered at the Indigo Plateau; Lorelei, one of my favorite veteran trainers, came to town the day after, and she made a speech about how she wouldn't let Team Rocket prevail, especially not after the tragic murder of the Gym Leader. I came up to her and got rather excited around her, and noticing I wasn't yet 10 and yet I was the new Gym Leader already, she challenged me to a one-on-one exhibition match, to be held at the Gym. I ended up coming out on top and soon became a local legend in my own right.  
"Speaking of right, something's not right about the guy at the end of the bridge. He looks kinda conspicuous in a line of schoolgirls and casually-dressed boys. Even that camper looked natural compared to him! I mean, a loud Hawaiian shirt and a pair of shiny glasses? Give me a break!"  
"We should check it out," Leaf said. "But first, I need to pick up my prize."  
They walked up to the end of the bridge. "What took you so long?" the conspicuously-dressed guy asked.  
"Cooling off below the bridge," Leaf said.  
"Well, anyway," the guy said, "as a reward for your having completed the challenge successfully, here's your fabulous prize!"  
The guy gave Leaf a gold nugget. "This better not be fool's gold," Misty said, "because if it is, I know just where my foot's headed next."  
"Oh, by the way," the guy continued, "would you lovely ladies like to join Team Rocket?"  
Ethan's face turned pale at the mention of Team Rocket. He looked as though he had just been punched in the gut. "My scoutmaster's gonna kill me," he grumbled as he ran over to Reli to let her know about his suspicions.  
The plainclothes Rocket continued, "We of Team Rocket have dedicated ourselves to the commission of evil deeds using Pokémon! You wanna join?"  
Now, both Leaf and Misty knew better than to associate with those thieves, so they said, "No!"  
"Are you sure?"  
Still the girls refused. "Come on, join us! I'm telling you to join!"  
Leaf and Misty remained steadfast in their refusal. "Fine! If that's the way you wanna play it," the Rocket said, "you're gonna need convincing! I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse!"  
"We already refused it," Leaf said.  
"I'll never join you!" Misty exclaimed. "You killed my father!"  
After an awkward pause, the Rocket said, "You were expecting me to say that I AM your father? Sorry, but this is the real world, you little runt."  
Even without the shadow of her father's death hanging over her head at that moment, Misty took extreme umbrage, exploding, "NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO CALL ME THAT EXCEPT MY SISTERS! Now, you vile, worthless scum, I'll take you on!"  
"Wait… who are you again?"  
Posing like her favorite cartoon superhero, Misty exclaimed, "I'm the world-famous beauty, Misty Waterflower!"  
"You? A world-famous beauty? My foot!" the Rocket exclaimed. "Besides, unlike most of my colleagues, I'm not afraid of you! So BRING IT!"  
"I plan to!" Misty exclaimed. "Misty calls Starmie!"  
As he summoned his Zubat to counter her Starmie, the Rocket shouted, "HAVE AT THEE, THOU BOASTFUL BLOWHARD!"  
Misty groaned, "I'm not all talk, Rocket. BUBBLEBEAM!"  
Starmie disposed of both the Zubat and the Ekans that followed rather easily by firing high-pressure bubbles at them. "My God!" the Rocket exclaimed as he reluctantly handed over the prize money, which Misty and Leaf split amongst themselves. "You truly are strong!"  
"We're both too good for your outfit," Leaf said. "Come on, Misty, what were you going to show me past this point?"  
As Leaf and Misty proceeded forward, the Rocket called out to them, "That wasn't even scratching the surface! Even at that stage, I could see your true potential! With your ability, you could've become a top leader in Team Rocket! What a waste…"


	12. The Cottage on the Cape

"Let's face it: I'm a terrible trainer," said the young man just north of the Nugget Bridge. "I feel I should release me Charmander since I haven't been training it well. If you can promise me you'll take good care of it, it's yours."  
"I'd like to help you," Misty said, "but I can't for two reasons: one, I'm a Water-type specialist, and two, I might put its life at risk completely by accident."  
"Oh. I'd better release it, then," said the young man, named Damien.  
"Wait!" Leaf shouted. "I think I could be of help."  
Damien breathed a sigh of relief. "You're a kind person, aren't you?"  
"Well, no, not especially," Leaf admitted, "but I know enough about being a good Pokémon trainer that to me, it'd be a piece of cake."  
"It's settled, then!" Damien said as he handed over the Poké Ball with the flame-shaped marking. As it disappeared into Leaf's account on the Pokémon Storage System, he continued, "Take good care o' me Charmander!"  
Giving him the thumbs up, Leaf said, "You can count on me!"  
Stopping only to pick up a nearby Item Ball which contained yet another TM, Leaf and Misty proceeded down from the raised platform; however, whereas Leaf descended the normal way, Misty, like a gymnast, grabbed onto the ledge and flipped herself over to the other side thereof.  
As they prepared to go east, they were jumped by a camper in a grassy area to the south, who shouted, "I saw your feat from the grass!"

After Leaf dealt with his Rattata and Ekans, the camper handed over the prize money, muttering, "I thought not…"  
"I never did get your name," Leaf said.  
"It's Shane," the camper said.  
"Mine's Leaf."  
"Leaf, huh? What a peculiar name…"  
"I'm not the only one," Leaf said.  
"Well, anyway," Shane said, "you came here by Nugget Bridge, right? I hid here because the people on the bridge scared me."  
Misty shook her head and said, "No kidding, Sherlock!"  
All of a sudden, they were jumped by a wild Abra. "Allow me-pippi," Clefairy said before curtsying and singing him to sleep. She then pounded on him until Leaf bad her stand down. "I've been saving my Great Ball for this," said she. "Great Ball! GO!"  
The Abra was promptly caught. Leaf and Pikachu shouted in unison, "We got it! We caught Abra!"  
"You do realize, don't you," Misty quipped, "that Abra can't really do anything in battle?"  
"I just gotta be patient with it, is all," Leaf said. "Brock once told me something similar about my Magikarp, which turned out to be 500 Poké Dollars well spent."  
"That's what I'm afraid of," Misty said in an uncharacteristically nervous tone.  
"What, afraid that this weakling suddenly became useful?"  
Misty sighed and said, "I'm not overly fond of what follows."  
She then removed a device from her shorts pocket and opened it up. "What's that?"  
"That's a Technical Machine," Misty said, "and I'm replenishing it."  
"How do you know how to make a TM?" Leaf asked.  
"I learned how to with the Squirtle Scouts," Misty said. "Practically everyone educated at Riverside knows how to make a TM."  
"Don't we have somewhere to go?" Leaf asked.  
"Oh! Right! We were about to go east!"  
They left the grassy area, but not before Leaf caught an Oddish that had ambushed them along the way. A bit further on, Leaf also caught a Bellsprout, all the while Misty telling her to hurry up.  
Soon they encountered a hiker who looked all pumped up. "I just got down from Mt. Moon," said he, "but I'm ready!"  
Misty watched Leaf thrash him with Bulbasaur and his Vine Whip. "You work hard!" the hiker, named Franklin, said as he handed over the prize money.  
"Local trainers come here to practice," said a youngster just nearby. "What about you?"  
Misty was at a loss for words. "Another admirer of yours?" Leaf asked.  
"I get plenty of them sometimes," Misty admitted. "It all comes from being a Gym Leader, apparently. Still, I wish they'd wait a bit before pursuing any real romance with me."  
"I know," Leaf said. "I got this. Go, Captain!"  
Captain took care of the youngster's Rattata, and Pikachu fried his Spearow in little time at all. Handing over the prize money, the youngster, named Joey, said, "You're decent."  
Leaf said, "You're not half bad yourself."  
"All Pokémon have weaknesses," Joey said. "It's best to raise different kinds."  
"May I suggest-?"  
"I know," Joey said. "Get a Pikachu if I want to take your friend on."  
"Good luck," Leaf said before she and Misty continued through the labyrinth, right into the eyesight of another hiker, named Wayne. "You going to see Bill?" he asked.  
"I guess," Leaf said.  
"First," Wayne said, "let's fight!"  
It was his Onix vs. her Bulbasaur. Predictably, despite the lower level, Bulbasaur won. "You're something," Wayne said as he handed over the prize money. "Oh, a little tip for the return trip: the trail below is a shortcut to Cerulean City."  
"I knew that!" Misty exclaimed incredulously.  
"I'll keep that in mind," Leaf said.  
Just to the east was another Youngster, named Dan. "Dad took me to a great party on the S.S. Anne," said he before summoning a Slowpoke.  
"Don't even thinking about bringing out the Bulbasaur-pika," Pikachu said. "This one looks to be a toughie-pika. Let me handle it-pika. Pi-ka-CHUUUUU!"  
It took a few hits, but Leaf won. "I'm not mad!" Dan said as he handed over the prize money. "On the S.S. Anne, I saw trainers from around the world. None were as good as you are, though."  
"Then they'd better be prepared," Leaf boasted, "if and when I get my ticket."  
"I'm positive they will," Dan said, "so you'd better be prepared."  
Just a few yards down was a lass, named Kelsey. "Hi!" said she. "My boyfriend is cool!"  
Leaf's opponents this time were a pair of Nidoran. As with the ones owned by Reli, who she had battled on the Nugget Bridge, one was a boy, the other a girl. Bulbasaur once again took care of them both easily.  
"I was in bad condition!" Kelsey admitted as she reluctantly handed over the prize money. "But then, I wish my guy was as good as you!"  
"Indeed, he's probably jealous," Leaf said. "Why don't you two train together?"  
"Good idea!" Kelsey said. "I'd really love to!"  
Leaf and Misty were able to continue east. A hiker, Nob, intercepted them first. "I'm off to see a Pokémon collector at the cape!" said he. Bulbasaur took care of his Pokémon rather easily. "You got me," he said as he handed over the prize money.  
"What's Bill got in terms of rare Pokémon?" Leaf asked.  
"That's his name? Anyway," Nob said, "he's got many kinds of rare Pokémon."  
Almost immediately, a camper intercepted Leaf and Misty. "I'm a cool guy," said he. "I've got a girlfriend!"  
"Oh, good for you," Misty said. "I've seen too many admirers of both genders and varying taste around here today."  
The camper, named Flint, summoned his Rattata shouting, "AND YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"  
Pointing in Leaf's direction, Misty said, "I think he means you."  
"Thanks," Leaf said sarcastically. "That was very helpful."  
Mankey and Bulbasaur both swept Flint's Pokémon with ease. As he handed over the prize money, he said, "Oh, well. My girl will cheer me up."  
Leaf and Misty proceeded further to the east, but not before Leaf picked up an Item Ball to the north which she had seen behind Ethan. As they continued, Clefairy suddenly had a funny feeling. "Fortune-telling youngster at 2:00-pippi!"  
Indeed, the youngster, named Chad, saw them and said almost immediately, "I knew I had to fight you!"  
Bulbasaur's opponents were an Ekans and a Sandshrew. Chad stood little chance. As he handed over the prize money, he admitted, "I knew I'd lose, too!"  
"Anything in my future?" Leaf asked.  
"I see confusion or sleep in the next week or two," Chad said. "If either afflicts any of your Pokémon, switch it!"  
"Oh! What about me?" Misty asked.  
"Three years from now," Chad said, "there will be a momentous occasion for you, interrupted by a quintet of challengers from various parts of Johto. One of them will challenge you for the Cascade Badge, having herself taken on the Kanto Gym Challenge."  
"Sounds intriguing on paper," Misty said. "Well, we're off to see the wizard, so to speak."  
Just in front of them was one last trainer—a lass, named Haley. "My friend has a cute Pokémon," said she. "I'm so jealous!"  
"You gonna let us see Bill or not?" Leaf asked.  
"Oh! En garde!"  
Haley's Pokémon were a pair of Oddish and a Pidgey. Butterfree and Beedrill handled each of the Oddish, and Pikachu took care of the Pidgey.  
"Oh, wow," Haley said as she handed over the prize money. "I guess I'm not so jealous after all!"  
Seeing Clefairy right next to Leaf, she continued, "You came from Mt. Moon? May I have a Clefairy?"  
"Go get your own-pippi," Clefairy said. "I'm sure you'll find one if you look hard enough."  
With that, Leaf and Misty continued towards the edge of the cape. "You see this place?" Misty asked.  
"Of course," Leaf said. "How can I not?"  
"It's some place I want to go for my first big romantic excursion," Misty said. "Gender be damned, Cerulean Cape is perfect for such occasions! I'm already picturing what I'm expecting…"  
"I'll leave you to your fantasy," Leaf said. "I'll be in the cottage."  
Leaf stepped into the seaside cottage.

"PI-ka!?"  
"Oh, hi, y'all!" the strange creature in the center of the cottage said. "I'm a Pokémon… no, wait, I'm not! Oh, you can call me Bill. I consider myself a true blue Pokémaniac!"  
Noticing Pikachu's shocked look, he continued, "What's with the skeptical look?"  
"You look like a Slowpoke-pika," Pikachu said. "That or a Raticate with a pretty weird tail-pika."  
"I'm not joshing you," Bill said, "I screwed up an experiment and got combined with a Pokémon! So, how about it? Help me out here!"  
Leaf stepped back. Even she was a bit weirded out. "Come on, you gotta help a guy in deep trouble!" Bill exclaimed. "Whaddaya say, milady? Please? OK? All right!  
"When I'm in the teleporter, go to my Next Computer and run the Cell Separation System!"  
Leaf was a bit confused. "Next Computer? Is that one not good enough?"  
"That's not what I meant!" Bill protested. "Next Computer is the Pokémon League's official hardware and software supplier! I also ordered this cool machine from them. Anyway, let's do this!"  
Bill stepped inside the teleporter and closed the door tightly on the inside, sealing it so nothing would get by. Leaf walked up to the computer and ran the program Bill had indicated. Within just a couple of minutes, Bill emerged, back to normal, much to Pikachu's extreme surprise. She was so freaked out, she nearly fainted on the spot!  
"YEE-haw!" Bill shouted. "Thanks, bud! I owe you one! So, did you come to see my Pokémon collection?"  
"Not really," Leaf said. "I came with a friend to see her preferred romantic setting."  
"Aw, man! That's a bummer," Bill said. "I've got to thank you somehow…"  
Bill suddenly felt something in his pocket. "Oh, here you go," said he.  
Leaf saw what he had given her. "An S.S. Ticket?"  
"That cruise ship, the S.S. Anne, is in Vermilion City," Bill explained. "Its passengers are all trainers! They invited me to a party, but I can't stand fancy do's. Why don't you go instead of me?"  
"Sure," Leaf said.  
After a pause, Bill said, "Look, bud, just check out some of my rare Pokémon on my PC."  
"You sure?"  
"Absolutely!" said Bill. "I saw you had some strange device on you, and I figured that was some Pokémon encyclopedia, so I figured my collection could be of some help to you, whatever it is you're doing with it."  
"Thanks," Leaf said.  
Looking through the PC, Leaf found some rare Pokémon: Eevee, a Normal-type Pokémon with some very weird DNA, Flareon, a Fire-type Pokémon, Jolteon, an Electric-type Pokémon, and Vaporeon, a Water-type Pokémon. "I recognize one of them," Leaf said. "I rescued a couple of Eevee that Team Rocket was experimenting on."  
"Say WHAT!?"  
"I know," Leaf said. "Hard to believe, right?"  
"That is AWESOME!" Bill exclaimed. "If you've still got 'em, and if you plan to evolve them, I suggest you try different Evolutionary Stones."  
"What are they?" Leaf asked.  
"The Moon Stone isn't the only pebble that can evolve Pokémon," Bill said, which surprised Clefairy greatly. "There's also a Fire Stone, a Thunder Stone, a Water Stone, and a Leaf Stone. All but one of these can evolve Eevee. Figure out for yourself which Stone evolves Eevee to which form. It's pretty easy, actually."  
Leaf said, "Thanks for everything, Bill, but I've gotta get back to Cerulean; I've got an appointment with the Gym Leader."  
As she left, Bill said, "It'll look easy for you, considering you've got a Pikachu. Anyway, have fun!"  
Leaf ran down the bridge and all the way through the shortcut back to Cerulean, where she would soon have her Gym battle with Misty…


	13. Battle for the Cascade Badge

"Strange," Pikachu said. "I wonder why Misty wasn't waiting for us-pika."  
"Probably because she has a gym to run," Leaf said. "The trip to Cerulean Cape was just a treat for the challengers—us—to see, and we saw it. Now, we must return the courtesy via a fair battle for the Cascade Badge."  
"I see your point-pippi," Clefairy said.  
As they walked back into the city, they saw Officer Jenny with the plainclothes Rocket in her custody.  
"I'm the real deal, I tell you!" the Rocket protested. "I'm the one who's really in charge of the Nugget Bridge!"  
"Tell that to the camper who overheard you saying you were with Team Rocket," Officer Jenny said. "Oh, hey there! Aren't you the newcomer who inquired about the situation here?"  
"I guess," Leaf said. "Any activity around the house?"  
"Feel free to look around," Officer Jenny said, "and even ask around the house if you will. You'll probably be able to do a better job anyway."  
Leaf walked into the burglarized house, ready to conduct her own personal investigation of the burglary.

"Oh my Arceus," said she. The inside of the house was an absolute mess; however, the young lady inside of the house at least kept calm. "Team Rocket must be trying to dig their way into no good," the young lady remarked.  
"Any idea what the burglar looked like?" Leaf asked.  
"They all look the same," the young lady said. "Black uniform, muscular build, perhaps a 5:00 shadow… that just screams Team Rocket to me."  
The man of the house was greatly upset. "Those miserable Rockets! look what they did here!"  
"I assume they stole something with which you can dig?" Leaf quipped.  
"Yeah! They stole a TM for teaching Pokémon how to dig holes!" he exclaimed. "That cost me a bundle, it did!"  
"Where did he go?" Leaf asked.  
"Officer Jenny always says the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime," the man said. "Why don't you check around here?"  
Leaf walked through the already-present hole and started looking around, catching sight of a muscular man in black with a 5:00 shadow. "Hey! Stay out!" he shouted. "It's not your yard!"  
"I know it isn't," Leaf said. "It's not yours, either."  
"Huh? Me? I'm an innocent bystander!" the Rocket protested. "Don't you believe me?"  
"That red R just screams Team Rocket," Leaf said. "I CHOOSE YOU! LITA!"  
"I'm on it-pika!" Pikachu said. "Oh, and in case you were wondering, I'm the little devil your coworkers have been talking about-pika."  
"Bring it, mousy!" the Rocket shouted as he summoned his Machop. Pikachu fried both him and the Drowzee that was called in in his place in little time at all. "Stop! I'll give up! I'll leave quietly!" the Rocket stammered as he handed over the prize money.  
"That's not gonna be enough this time," Leaf said. "Aren't you forgetting something else?"  
"OK! I'll return the TM I stole!" the Rocket suddenly shouted before handing over the TM. As Leaf put it in her bag, he continued, "I'd better get moving now! Bye!"  
When Leaf looked up again, the Rocket was gone. Walking back into the house the way she had come, she told the man, "I believe you were looking for this."  
The man looked disinterested. "What's wrong?" she asked. "I'm only returning stolen property which I had recovered for you."  
"No, no, it's OK, you can keep it," the man said. "I just remembered I can teach my Diglett how to dig without a TM. Besides, you seem to be a good Pokémon trainer—that was just barely scratching the surface, your performance back there!—so you might find a better use for it than I ever could."  
Leaf blushed and chuckled. "Thanks, sir."

Leaf spent the next day training her Pokémon for the big battle on Route 4. By the time she finished, she had evolved a few of her Pokémon, including her Abra and Oddish, both of which were in her final lineup before the battle along with Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Clefairy, and Mew.  
After she finished training her Pokémon, she walked into the Gym. "OK, Misty," said she. "I'm ready for our match!"  
"Not quite," said the same lady from a couple of days before, "from where I'm standing."  
Leaf looked around. "Sakura again?"  
"Yes," said she, "but not as you recognize her."  
Indeed, Sakura was wearing something more normal this time, having just come back from getting the groceries. "Why aren't you dressed like a bunny girl?" Leaf asked. "Don't you look more familiar to me dressed like a bunny girl?"  
"I just thought I'd show you what I look like when I'm neither performing with my sisters in our water ballets nor introducing new acts and Gym challengers," Sakura lied.  
Leaf could see right through her. "I can tell by those grocery bags you're holding," said she, "that that is not the case."  
Sakura came clean. "OK, fine! I just got back with the groceries."  
"And another thing: how am I not ready? Didn't I just train my Pokémon just west of here?" Leaf asked.  
"For a friend of Misty's, you look too plain for the Gym challenge," Sakura said. "I think my sisters and I could help you with that."  
Lily then appeared, also in casual clothes. Right next to her was her purplenette older sister Violet. "The purplenette behind me is Violet," Sakura said, "and I'm pretty sure you've already met Lily."  
Leaf said, "Well, I did see her magic show last Thursday."  
"What's up? I'm on the Cloysters' cheer squad," Violet said.  
"I can tell," Leaf said. "You're dressed for one of their games."  
Violet took one good, long look at Leaf. "You're a bit closer to Lily's size, by the looks of it," said she.  
"Come with me," Lily said. "I've got just the perfect costume for you."

"Your little sister told you correctly," Leaf said. "I do indeed come from Pallet Town."  
"Indeed," Lily said. "We don't get very many trainers from Pallet Town, and I'm thinking you should probably dress up for the occasion."  
"What did you have in mind?" Leaf asked. "Whatever gown you wore to your last school dance?"  
"No," Lily said. "Something even more beautiful than that."  
Lily opened the wardrobe at the back of the backstage area of the Gym's entertainment auditorium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, I'm pleased to announce that Misty, the Tomboyish Mermaid, has a new challenger coming in today, and boy, is she coming in with style! Please welcome the popular new face from Pallet Town… LEAF!"  
A spotlight shone on Leaf as she stood at the foot of the platform leading her to her goal. She now wore Lily's Goldeen dress. Pikachu was also wearing a tuxedo.  
Misty said to herself, "She's so pretty…"  
Leaf walked onto the platform, but she found it difficult to maintain her balance in those high heels. After tripping where she had battled Luis, Lily ran up to her and asked, "Are you OK?"  
An irritated Leaf, not amused that it was difficult to move around in the Goldeen dress, said, "I will pay you 50,000 Poké Dollars right now for a pair of flats."  
"You'll get used to those heels," Lily assured her. "Believe me, I did."  
A bit nervous, Leaf continued onward only to be jumped by Diana in her swimsuit. "What? You? I'm more than good enough for you," said she. "Misty can wait!"  
Rolling her eyes, Misty said, "Pushy as always, my cousin Diana."  
Diana summoned her Goldeen, which was distracted by the Goldeen dress Leaf was wearing. "You know a Pokémon is too easily distracted when facing off against a humanoid lookalike!" Misty snapped.  
"This is too easy-pika," Pikachu said. "Pi-ka-CHUUUUU!"  
The Goldeen was fried quickly. "You overwhelmed me!" Diana exclaimed as she handed over the prize money.  
Misty jumped off the lifeguard chair and landed in front of Leaf. "How do I look?" she asked.  
"Same as usual," Leaf said, "except your ears are pretty much like Lita's."  
"I heard you'd be wearing that dress when challenging me," Misty said, "so being somewhat of a Pikachu fangirl, I decided to cash in on the irony with a pair of Pikachu ears."  
"I think they make you look cute," Leaf said, "but I'm not expecting this to be an easy battle for either of us."  
Knowing that Pikachu had earlier fried Leaf for calling her "cute", Lily remarked, "Nice save!"  
"Good," Misty said, "because I don't intend for this to be a walk in the park. Your battle with Brock? That was just the beginning. Your first real challenge is right here, and the Gym Leaders after me are gonna get progressively difficult, so en garde! Misty calls Staryu!"  
"Hito!" the starfish-shaped Pokémon shouted upon coming out of its Poké Ball.  
"I choose you! Dino!"  
Bulbasaur came out of his Poké Ball and flipped a seed out of the bulb on his back as he grunted, "Bubba! Zoar!"  
Misty started the fight by giving her Staryu some X-Defend ("And don't bother with physical attacks, either, because they won't work as well against my Pokémon!") before Bulbasaur threw some Leech Seed at it. Just a few seconds later, a five-armed figure ran up to him and hit him like a load, nearly pushing him into the swimming pool below him before he grabbed on to the platform with his vines and swung himself back on. Next thing it knew, he returned the favor with Vine Whip.  
"Ouch!" Sakura shouted, being the battle's color commentator after having introduced Leaf a few minutes earlier, remaining in her bunny girl costume throughout. "I don't care what type your Pokémon is, that's gotta hurt!"  
Violet did her part, too, gathering the Cloysters' cheer squad together for the match and also assembling a bunch of Squirtle Scouts from Riverside to act as the other cheer squad during the big battle. The event was practically advertised as the Gym Battle of the Century, given the full lineup of cheerleaders, the color commentating for JOCC-TV, Cerulean's local PBS station and one of few to be located outside of America, and the flashy costumes—a Goldeen dress for Leaf, and a comparatively simple pair of Pikachu ears for Misty—plus the full house, among other things. Even the mayor himself was in attendance, as were a few other very important people, among them a mysterious man wearing a fedora and a suit who was accompanied by a Persian. According to Sakura, Gym Battles like that happened once in a blue moon.  
After being knocked into the pool by Bulbasaur's vines, Staryu jumped back out and hit him with Water Gun, which practically tickled him. Some of the pain was eased by the parasitic seeds he had left on it, and Bulbasaur finished it off with another Vine Whip.  
"That was interesting," Misty said. "How about your strongest Pokémon vs. my strongest Pokémon this time?"  
"I guess," Leaf said. "It's only fair, after all. Lita, are you ready?"  
"I was born ready-pika!" Pikachu said while adjusting her tuxedo's bowtie.  
"You couldn't have made a better choice of words," Misty said. "Misty calls Starmie!"  
Giving some X-Defend to Starmie, she continued, "First things first; I never send my Pokémon into Gym Battles without a good helping of X-Defend."  
Both Pikachu and Starmie sent their best attacks at each other—Thunderbolt for Pikachu and Bubblebeam for Starmie. Both were blown back by the other's strike. Cackling, Misty boasted, "Even a Thunderbolt can't really do much to my Starmie at your level!"  
"I kinda figured that out for myself-pika," Pikachu said, "and I did see what your Starmie was capable of back on the Nugget Bridge-pika."  
"You appear to be tough, too," Misty continued, "considering you're still standing after absorbing a Bubblebeam of similar caliber."  
"Yeah, I came in expecting to take at least some beating-pika," Pikachu said.  
"Let's go at it again!" Leaf and Misty shouted in unison.  
One round later, both were still standing. "Oh my Arceus!" Leaf exclaimed. "You're really putting up quite the fight!"  
Starmie's red eye wasn't quite blinking, but it appeared to be in some real pain. "100,000 volts can be tough on any Water-type Pokémon, too!" Misty remarked. "More than even high-pressure bubble jets can be on any Pokémon, period!"  
"Well, within the next round or two," Leaf said, "only one of us will be left standing."  
"Will it be me or you?" Misty asked.  
"Why don't we find out?"  
The cheerleading on both sides intensified. From her color commentary booth, Sakura said, "The stakes are high. Both combatants are using their strongest Pokémon, and both Pokémon are using their strongest attacks. Both are pretty weak, and it could all be over in the next turn or two. Which of the two will win? Will it be Misty's Starmie, with its high-pressure Bubblebeam? Or will it be Leaf's Pikachu, with her 100,000-volt Thunderbolt? Both of them appear to be in a Wild West-style standoff at the moment—it's high noon at 5:50 in the afternoon here in Cerulean Gym, and nobody appears to be moving one inch at the moment. Who will strike the finishing blow?"  
For several minutes, Pikachu and Starmie were staring each other down, waiting to make the final move. "Oh, the suspense is too much," Misty said. "I can't take it anymore!"  
"Me neither," Leaf said.  
"Just get it over with already!" they shouted in unison.  
One last explosion of water and lightning blew clear through the battlefield. When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was still standing. "Looks like we have a winner!" Sakura shouted.  
Pikachu helped Starmie get back up. "You know, you nearly had me-pika," said she. "Misty's father must be proud of her, the way she battles-pika."  
"An excellent display of sportsmanship on the part of Leaf's Pikachu!" Sakura exclaimed. "Leaf's rewarded her for her own performance in a battle well fought with a well-deserved and quite refreshing Potion, and is Pikachu ever happy!"  
"Wow! You're too much!" Misty exclaimed. "ALL RIGHT! You can have this Cascade Badge as proof of your victory here!"  
After giving Leaf the Cascade Badge, Misty continued, "The Cascade Badge makes all Pokémon up to Lv. 30 obey—yes, even the outsiders! There's more, you can now use Cut any time to get past the small bushes and open new paths!"  
She also gave Leaf a TM. "I can make my own, anyway," Misty said. "I'm a Squirtle Scout, after all. This happens to be my favorite TM, by the way—TM11, which teaches Bubblebeam! Teach it to an aquatic Pokémon!"  
An excited Clyde ran up to Leaf and shook her hand. "You beat Misty!" he exclaimed. "What'd I tell you? You and I, we make a pretty amazing team, don't we?"  
Suddenly, a rose-haired woman walked in. "Brava!" she exclaimed.  
Leaf promptly did a double take. "Nurse Joy?"  
"That's just my day job," said she. "I also happen to be a Pokémon Inspector. Misty Waterflower, I've been watching you ever since your father's untimely demise, and I have to commend you. Both you and Leaf, in fact—that was some pretty neat sportsmanship on both sides, and Leaf, that was very honorable, giving your Pokémon a Potion to revitalize her after she had taken that beating."  
Sternly, she continued, "Normally, Gym Leaders are supposed to have a full Pokémon license, and typically, individuals are ineligible for a full Pokémon license until they turn 10."  
"I know," Misty said, blushing in mild shame.  
"Therefore, it is my duty as a Pokémon Inspector to inform you," Nurse Joy continued, pausing for effect, "that your Pokémon license is hereby considered effective retroactive to the date on which you inherited the Gym. That's right, you're now officially the youngest official Gym Leader in Pokémon League history. Congratulations!"  
Misty didn't know what to say. "Way to go, Misty!" Violet and Lily suddenly shouted in unison.  
"Uh… thanks?" Misty stammered rather hesitantly.  
"Consider the bestowment which took place on your 10th birthday, along with the reception of your starter Pokémon, a mere formality in your case," Nurse Joy said. "As a trainer you were already showing yourself to be more or less a child prodigy, and you've demonstrated a great deal of sportsmanship over the past several weeks, so… you've earned it. Your father would be proud of you."  
Misty was beaming with excitement. A freelance photographer, name of Todd Snap, entered and said, "Well, isn't this a momentous moment? I think this calls for a group photo!"  
"Great idea!" Misty said as she, Sakura, Violet, Lily, Leaf, Clyde, Diana, and Nurse Joy gathered together as quickly as they could.  
"Have you ever heard of him?" Leaf asked.  
"Of course," Misty said. "He's some redheaded hotshot photographer who more or less is a hobbyist. He sometimes takes photos of Gym battles; why, he even captured that match I had with Lorelei soon after I inherited the Gym. I'll bet that was his favorite photo with human subjects up to now."  
"OK, smile for the camera!" Todd shouted before taking the picture.

Meanwhile, a black helicopter hovered into Saffron City, landing on the roof of Silph Company headquarters. "We're here, sir," a man from inside the helicopter informed his boss, who was inside of the helicopter.  
Seeing the chopper and sensing trouble, a young woman in a turtleneck put down her binoculars and retreated into her Gym, locking the doors immediately. She then sent a voice message via telepathy to the rest of the city.  
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Attention all citizens! This is Sierra Delta Sierra Charlie acting as your watchlady. Some very bad men in black have invaded the city! I repeat, we are under attack! Get inside your houses, and lock the doors! Don't let anybody in or out! This is not a drill! In the meantime, I'll get on the phone with the mayor's office and Sierra Papa Delta to see what they can do about this present crisis. I'm also going to get the word out to the other Gym Leaders, including Mike Sierra Victor Charlie and Echo Lima Charlie Charlie, so that they, too, may be on alert in case Team Rocket tries to horn in on their territory, too. I'd inform Mike Whiskey Charlie Charlie as well, but she'd assure me everything's under control as long as she's in charge of her Gym. That may be the case there, but it certainly isn't here. I repeat, get inside your houses, lock the doors, and don't let anybody in or out. This has been an important safety message from your Gym Leader and watchlady, Sabrina D'Avalon. Out."


	14. The Underground Path

The gathering on the Silence Bridge was a somber one, indeed. Five girls, four men, one woman, and two Pokémon—a Clefairy and a Jigglypuff—were in attendance as the woman, who worked as an officer for the Lavender Police Department, scattered her husband's ashes at sea. She then took a pair of Moon Stones and exposed the Pokémon, evolving them. The newly-widowed policewoman departed with the Pokémon and her daughter back to the north as one of the men swore to avenge their fallen friend.  
"It's been an honor, amigo," said he. "The Global Police will never forget you, nor your service to our organization. We will continue to honor your memory with a hall of trainers to the east of Vermilion City. And we shall find the criminal who had cut your life so short, if he hasn't already been dealt with, and see him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. See you soon."  
He and the other men bowed toward the east before returning with their daughters towards Vermilion City—and just in time, too, because a Snorlax soon blundered towards the junction leading from the Silence Bridge to Vermilion and took his rest there as a gentleman in khaki looked on. "Good Lord!" said he. "Whatever could that specimen be?"

"You have to face other trainers to find out how good you really are," Diana said. "Brock and my cousin Misty were both fairly easy, but your journey is just beginning."  
Once again wearing her black minidress, Leaf said, "I'll keep that in mind. Still, I get the feeling things are getting too easy for me."  
"You won't be thinking like that after you finish with Lt. Surge," Misty said. "A nice guy, yes, and proud to be an American, but I wouldn't pick a fight with him. Then again, I am a Water-type specialist."  
Pikachu asked, "Would I be a good match against him-pika?"  
"Only if you want a David-and-Goliath situation," Misty said. "If you're strong enough, you'll have your speed going for you—and you'll have to be pretty fast to stand any real chance against his Pokémon. Just as I pride myself on being harder to get past than the Pewter City Sting's defense, he prides himself on violating all speed limits known to man!"  
Lily stepped out of the Gym at that point. "I heard you're going to a party on the S.S. Anne," said she.  
Leaf groaned. "Did you check my bag while I was battling your sister?"  
"Well, actually," Lily said hesitatingly, "yes. Yes, I did. And I found an S.S. Ticket in there."  
"What about it?" Leaf asked.  
"I was thinking of making a pretty dress for you for the occasion," Lily said.  
"My company's going to the party anyway," Misty said, "so I'll be showing up in uniform. A pretty good way to start my summer break. I'd better brush up on my social dancing… Diana, come with me. I've got something I'd like to do before I depart with my company for Vermilion Harbor after we complete our finals for the spring term at Riverside."  
As Misty and Diana walked back into the Gym, Leaf said, "I'm cool with that. I mean, a little black dress is kind of unoriginal for fancy do's, after all. How long do you estimate it'll be?"  
Lily said, "I think I'll be able to have it ready by Tanabata."  
Suddenly, the same Meowth Leaf had seen just outside of the Gym a couple of evenings before appeared. "That Misty shows some real promise as a gymnast, if she were ever to consider such a career," said he.  
Leaf was briefly stunned. "You're that Meowth I met last Thursday, right?"  
"Yeah," Meowth said. "Misty has learned things not just from humans but also Pokémon such as yours truly. I, for example, taught her gymnastics. But I feel like I've taught her everything I can, so it's time I moved on, I guess."  
"Where to?" Leaf asked.  
"One of your Poké Balls, for example," Meowth replied. "I already said goodbye to her, so… go right ahead."  
Leaf set down one of her Poké Balls, and Meowth pushed the button on the front, letting himself be captured immediately.

Leaf elected to stay one more night at the Pokémon Center before heading down south. While there, she had her Pokédex evaluated once more by Professor Oak.  
This time, she had 32 Pokémon. "Good, you're trying hard!" the Professor exclaimed. "Get an Itemfinder from my aide on Route 11, near Silence Bridge. I see you've gotten yourself a Bulbasaur and a Charmander by now."  
"Both around the time I got the Cascade Badge," Leaf said. "All I need now is a Squirtle, but so far I haven't been able to find any that are looking for a new Trainer."  
"That's odd," the Professor said. "Ring me up again as soon as you get one. This should be interesting."  
"I bet it will," Leaf said. "After all, as I have learned at times, patience is a virtue."  
"Good luck," the Professor said before hanging up.  
Leaf opened her Pokédex. Looking through it, she noticed that there was something a bit off about the way they were ordered. Then, she noticed that there were markings indicating tear-out lines. Leaf tore out the pages along those lines and rearranged them, putting them in a folder at the back. Of Meowth, she wrote: "It is nocturnal in nature. If it spots something shiny, its eyes glitter brightly."  
She had remembered how Team Rocket's Meowth had been distracted earlier by the shiny, waterproof finish on Butterfree's wings while he was trying to concentrate on Mankey. His eyes had glittered at that moment, and Mankey had hit him with a Low Kick not three seconds later.  
As she wrote, she pondered what, apart from its scarcity, made that odd creature called Mew so desirable.

The next morning, Misty threw Leaf over the ledge to a clear path out of the city, so as to help her along the way. Thanking her, Leaf then proceeded south, as a tree was obstructing her path to the east.  
Hopping over the ledges leading downward, Leaf felt something trip her up. As she tried to get up, she felt something tug on her leg. To her shock, a Bellsprout had grabbed her as she made her way towards the gate. And now, it was pulling her towards it.  
Sensing his Trainer was in trouble, Charmander popped out of his Poké Ball to defend her with a scorchingly hot Ember. The Bellsprout stood no chance.  
Leaf promptly took out her Pokédex and scribbled something down quickly regarding the Bellsprout she had just encountered. "It prefers hot and humid environments. It is quick at capturing prey with its vines."  
Observing how fast she had been grabbed by the Bellsprout, she added, "Even though its body is extremely skinny, it is blindingly fast when catching its prey."  
She scrambled out of the tall grass and over another ledge. From a vantage point, she observed as a Pidgey flew swiftly out of the grass to avoid being captured by another Bellsprout. "What happened to all the Bellsprout?" she asked herself. "Why are they acting so strange, as if they're mistaking everyone for a bug?"  
"Speak for yourself-pika!" Pikachu shouted irritably through clenched teeth. She too had been ensnared by a Bellsprout and was having a hard time shaking it off with Thunderbolt. "One of them just grabbed me!"  
Charmander leapt to the rescue once more, torching the Bellsprout and forcing it to release Pikachu. "That could've been disastrous-pika," she quipped as she, Leaf, and Clefairy jumped over the next ledge. Leaf watched as the Pidgey returned and, before the Bellsprout could react, kicked some sand in its face.  
"If I see one more of those creatures in the tall grass," Clefairy yelled, "I'm gonna freak-pippi!"  
"Don't panic," Leaf said. "It'll only make the situation worse."  
Suddenly, they were surrounded by Bellsprout wanting to get their vines on everyone nearby. "Start panicking," Leaf said weakly.  
All of a sudden, the vines came out and started pulling on everyone's limbs. It seemed like everyone among the Bellsprout wanted a piece of them. Leaf felt like she was being drawn and quartered by a gang of plants. She had not imagined for one second that her Pokémon journey would be entirely easy, but she had not expected to be attacked all at once—and in such a painful manner, yet!—by a gang of plant Pokémon. She closed her eyes, waiting for the Bellsprout to tear her apart.  
Thankfully, Charmander was so enraged by this sight that he Embered the living hell out of the gang of Bellsprout and forced them to drop the organic lifeforms they were pulling towards them. Leaf, Pikachu, and Clefairy took the opportunity to jump over the next ledge, hoping they wouldn't land in tall grass again after what had just happened ("I've experienced enough field danger for one day!").  
They didn't.  
Instead, they landed in a segment free of tall grass, with a fenced-in area right in front of them and a hut nearby. Inside the fenced area were several pairs of Pokémon, some of different species. Leaf wondered what they were doing and noticed a wholly unnatural Poképair within the fence.  
They soon learned it was a Daycare Center for Pokémon. Trainers who dropped off their Pokémon there could leave one or two; if two were left behind, she was told, there'd be the chance that they might reproduce. "How is that possible?" she asked.  
"You'll find out," the Daycare Center's owner said, "if you leave two of your Pokémon in my care and wait long enough."  
Leaf thought for a moment and said, "I'll let you know. Right now, I've got to go down to Verrmilion City to challenge Lt. Surge."  
As she departed, he asked, "Where are you going? Don't use the gate! It's—!"  
Leaf didn't listen.

"I'm on guard duty. Gee, I'm thirsty, though," the guard at the gate said, obviously looking parched. However, he had a job to do. "Oh, wait there," said he. "The road's closed."  
"He told you-pika," Pikachu said.  
"Who?" Leaf asked.  
"The kind owner of the Daycare Center-pika," Pikachu said. "But you didn't listen-pika!"  
As they left the gate, they saw Red hopping angrily over a ledge. "I've heard about Bellsprout going after bugs," he growled, "but this is ridiculous! It's like I was dealing with a pack of blasted omnivores! Thank goodness I chose Gojira to be my first Pokémon…"  
"You're not alone, Red," Leaf said with a clearly annoyed tone in her voice. "They went after me, too. They even went so far as to try to draw and quarter me!"  
"Me, too," Red admitted. "I just gotta ask, what do those Bellsprout have against humans?"  
"I don't know," Leaf said, "but whatever happened, for the first time in my life I almost got killed by a Pokémon!"  
Red sighed and said, "Well, anyway, it's none of our business, considering this is the first time I know of where a Pokémon actively tried to kill a human being. Oh… you tried going through Saffron, didn't you?"  
Leaf said, "Yeah…"  
"Then you may have noticed that the road's closed," Red said. "Misty told me the Gym Leader, Sabrina, takes security so seriously she works hand in hand with the city government to close down the city in case of an invasion. I don't know where the invaders this time came from, but I've got a bad feeling that we haven't yet seen the last of those fossil thieves."  
"Come to think," Leaf said, "the air does feel funny around here. Is it just me, or did someone go crazy with the pesticides?"  
"Something I noticed: the Pokémon within the fence at the Daycare Center are the only ones in the vicinity who are unaffected by whatever got sprayed around here," Red said. "But how is that possible?"  
"I wish I knew," Leaf groaned. "Anyway, do you know a way around the gate?"  
"Yes," Red said. "Misty told me to look around the unnaturally-placed grass on either side of the gate. Only one is the way through, though."  
"Which is it?" Leaf asked.  
"It'll cost you," Red said.  
"Cost me what?"  
Without warning, Red summoned his Pikachu. Pikachu looked at him a bit before slashing him. They went at each other relentlessly until the boy was in no condition to fight. Next came Spearow. Pikachu had no trouble with him, but she felt fairly weakened from having dealt with the other Pikachu. The third was the naturally nocturnal Oddish, who Leaf's Charmander fried fairly easily. Last, but not least, she pitted her Clefairy against his Charmander. She dealt with him effortlessly with Water Gun. "What was that about?" Leaf asked when it was all over.  
"I just wanted to see how much you've improved as a trainer since we last met," Red said, "and you didn't disappoint. You're getting better each day."  
"Having a couple of badges helps," Leaf admitted.  
"I have the Pewter and Cascade Badges, too, remember," Red pointed out. "Anyway, follow me and observe as I show you how to get around that gate."  
He then walked over to a conspicuous patch of grass, stepping on some metal beneath him. A voice below said, "Password, please."  
"Cut the crap," Red said. "I've got a friend who needs to go south past Saffron."  
"Doesn't matter," the voice said as a window opened revealing a stocky man with tanned skin and a lot of muscle. "You can't come in unless you give the password."  
"Well, that's just great!" Red exploded. "Why didn't I check if Misty had the password? I mean, she's only the leader of one of the safest Pokémon Gyms in Kanto!"  
The man said, "Hey, I'll give you a hint. It's the name of a fish Pokémon."  
Red thought a bit and asked, "Is it Old Man?"  
The man laughed and said, "That's no fish!"  
"He isn't? Well, he drinks like one!" Red exclaimed. "Let me see… Whiscash?"  
"You crazy? A Whiscash, it's what you say," the man said, "when you're looking for some money!"  
Red thought some more and said, "I got it! Remoraid!"  
"That's funny," the man said. "I got a Remoraid, too!"  
"Where do you keep your Remoraid?" Red asked.  
"In a fish tank in my aquarium," the man said. "But you still didn't guess it."  
With that, the man shut the window. "Aw, come on!" Red said, frustrated.  
Opening the window again, the man suddenly shouted, "Hey, what's wrong with you, you don't speak Basic?"  
In hushed tones, he then continued, "You can't come in here unless you say 'Gorebyss'. Now, I'll give you one more guess."  
It suddenly hit Red. "Gorebyss… Gorebyss… I think I got it! Is it Gorebyss?"  
"Yeah, that's it!" the man said, giving the thumbs up and opening the hatch. "You guessed it."  
As Red entered, Leaf said, "That's easy!"  
Then the hatch closed. "Don't tell me," Leaf said. "Password?"  
"Yes," the man said. "Three guesses. Name of a fish Pokémon."  
Leaf immediately said, "Gorebyss."  
"You're a good listener, young lady!" the man said as he opened the hatch. Once she and her Pokémon were in, the man shut the hatch and sealed it tight. "Team Rocket is gonna have a hard time doing that highwayman thing with us now, aren't they?"  
Speaking more seriously, he continued, "A word of warning, if you're into film or animation."  
Leaf said, "I'm very much so!"  
"Some people have been littering this place with videocassettes and videodiscs featuring such subject matter as jewelry heists, mysterious diamond-filled briefcases, master thieves, and aliens from outer space," the man said. "If such subjects interest you, be warned: they're full of references to other stuff which you probably won't get, and you'll end up looking like a Zubat just screamed in your face by the time it's all said and done."  
"Litterbugs," Red groaned. "I've seen my fair share of them lately."  
Leaf stared at him. The man said, "That's exactly the expression I'm talking about. Only difference is, you're not hurting yourself in your confusion."  
Leaf said, "You've been hanging around Mt. Moon a bit much, haven't you?"  
"Rock Tunnel," the man said. "And it's as hellish a cavern as they say it is, especially with the total lack of light. I train there weekly with the local Machop population."  
"That explains the muscles," Leaf remarked.  
Suddenly, Red noticed Leaf writing something down. "Are you transcribing everything you and we say? Not cool!" he exclaimed, a bit freaked out.  
"Chill, Red," Leaf said. "I'm just writing something down about Machop."  
Red breathed a sigh of relief and said, "For a minute I thought you were behaving as though we were in a video game."  
"A dating sim?" the man asked.  
"No, a role-playing game!" Red exclaimed, exasperated. "If Leaf didn't tell me she was writing something down in her Pokédex, I could've sworn she was thinking this was Dungeons and Dragons with Clefairy!"  
"Actually, I heard Pikachu was the more popular Pokémon these days," the man remarked. Clefairy pouted in response as Pikachu laughed her head off.  
"Quiet. We must concentrate on navigating this path," Leaf said. All of a sudden, she found a bunch of inflammatory graffiti on the wall to their left. In large blue lettering was "YANKEE GO HOME!" Right next to it, spraypainted in red, was "WE DON'T GET YOU, QUENTIN TARANTINO!"  
Leaf asked, "Who is this Quinton Terra-teen-o character, anyhow?"  
The man said, "Exactly what I was talking about, young lady: some guy from Knoxville, Tennessee who puts too many references in his films. Some say it's a bit tacky, what he does."  
Leaf asked, "Where is this Knoxville, Tennessee?"  
"I'll bet it's a great distance from Unova," Red quipped.  
"Exactly!" the man said. "745 miles southwest of Unova, to be precise."  
From the Route 5 entry point to the Route 6 entry point, Leaf and Red both came across some fairly useful items. Finally, they surfaced in a bunker chamber just below Route 6. "Have a safe trip to Vermillion!" the man said as they climbed out to the fresh air above.  
Leaf watched as Red ran into the tall grass to study the wildlife. "Shall we go to Vermilion, then-pippi?" Clefairy asked.  
"Actually," Leaf said, "I think some training would be in order, if Lt. Surge is as strong as Misty made him out to be."  
"Good call-pika!" Pikachu said. "I'm always ready to train-pika!"  
They ran into the nearest patch of tall grass.


End file.
